To Be Reborn
by Joshroom
Summary: With one moment the life of Rue Cadia begins again, with a new chance to be more than she was and carve a new life whilst fighting the demons of her old. Danger, friendships and hardships await.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there.**

 **Edit: New author note thing to replace the original one. I'm happy with the way my story has been progressing so far, it's reached the tenth chapter now, and, to any new readers, the pace is slow but the action is fierce so if you stick with it I promise (for what that's worth) that you will enjoy whats there. As before, any reviews, positive or negative, are very welcome.**

 **This is based on my partners character and the story we built up around her. Rated T for violence and mentioned non-consensual intercourse. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter One**

When she first saw the light through the trees Rue honestly believed she had finally cracked. It was only after hurriedly stumbling through the undergrowth of the woods, narrowly avoiding tripping over the exposed roots of the tall boughs around her, that she began to clearly hear the sounds that had been on the edge of her understanding for the last 10 minutes. Voices. Human voices, at last. Bless the Divines! If she had the energy she would have collapsed to her knees and wept; but she knew, even in her addled state, that as she was right now she might not be able to get up again. She had last slept, oh, just after the wolves and that was…a day ago, two days? Time was hard to tell in the shifting twilight of the winter woods. When she'd last eaten was easier to remember though. A good day before being ambushed by the pack she'd forced some mushrooms down, washing it down with the last of the wine that was the very final survivor of her supplies. Since then she hadn't dared try anything else, except the odd berry that she had picked to stave off the worst of her pangs. She didn't even have a weapon anymore; though she had survived the attack, her sword had jammed in the ribs of one of the wolves and she hadn't had the energy to pull it out. Now here she was; her clothes in tatters, her blanket cut into strips to protect her hands and head, her pack long gone, her sword stuck in some beast, her head sore, her belly empty and her hope almost faded.

This examination of her condition flashed through Rue's head as the awful realisation that the people up ahead, the first people she had come across on the two to three weeks since her escape and subsequent pursuit might not be friendly. At the idea that her ordeal might just have changed Rue felt her knees begin to buckle and the world spin. But that core of stubbornness, the very same part of her that had kept her sane and kept her strong all this time, flared and she caught herself against the nearest tree. Not yet. She wasn't giving up yet. With great effort she began to creep forward, seeking to keep a line of sight with the light while staying out of sight herself. As she neared, details began to become clear. There seemed to be a small cluster of huts, with what looked like a rough road running through it. Rue had seen similar tracks during her trek but, after following a few and ending up nowhere, had instead decided on just focusing her gaze on the largest mountain peak and heading in that direction. From the angle she was approaching Rue could see a cluster of wagons at furthest edge of the huts with figures seemingly standing on guard; while the light she had seen seemed to be coming from a circle of cooking fires that had been set up in the center and whose glow she could see through the gaps between the buildings. Realising that she had reached the edge of trees Rue paused, forcing her exhausted body to a stop. After looking side to side she ran, heading for the nearest hut, slamming into the side of it as she skidded on the sudden gravelly texture of the ground. Panting, she held her aching ribs with her hand, vainly hoping against hope that she hadn't been seen. It was then that the worst thing that could happen happened. Rue smelled, drifting on the early evening breeze, accompanied by the voices of the people at the fires, the beautiful scent of food.

By this point Rues hunger was no longer just an urge or even a pain. It had long since gone beyond that; becoming a numbing void within her that seemed to feed on the rest of her body. Never a stocky woman anyway, Rue now realised she must look skeletal. Looking back Rue realised that her condition may have caused her to truly go a little insane, for surely in no other situation would she ever have thrown herself to the ground and began crawling along the ground towards the smells like some kind of wild beast. Rounding the corner of the hut she saw clearly the people sat round the fires, talking loudly and laughing. It seemed like some celebration was happened, as even now Rue recognised the signs of drunkenness and lack of control. She'd got very good at noticing those back with…with a shiver Rue let that thought go before it threatened to envelop her. Still hidden behind the corner of the hut she realised how lucky she'd been in the direction she'd approached that group, as both the other directions seemed to have sentries. Still, as much as her conscious mind tried to assess the dangers, her eyes kept swinging towards the food roasting over the open flames; rabbits, chicken and what looked like venison on another. Enough sense of self-preservation existed within her though to make her reluctantly turn her head away from them and search for a more accessable target. Eventually her gaze alighted on a pile of packs away from the main group and nearer one of the carts; one of the ones near the top was open and seemed to have some dried foodstuffs inside. With a last cautious glance around Rue began creeping across the open space, trying to keep as close to the hut as possible. With each moment she expected someone to see her or cry a warning, but the figures at the fires seemed distracted with their own celebrations. Slowly but surely the bag got nearer and nearer, till it seemed she was almost close enough to reach out and snag it. Her stomach gurgling painfully she took a final glance at the people at the fires and then rushed out of her cover, snatching at the open pack triumphantly.

"What the heavens…!" cried a voice, startling near.

Spinning around Rue realised her mistake with an awful sickening lurch. She had been so focused on the men in the centre of the town she had completely forgotten about the guards on the outside. Now one of those said guards was staring at her in astonishment, having obviously just come around the side of the cart himself.

"Hold there!" the man said raising his hands non-threateningly "I won't harm you miss. Just where did you come from? This is the middle of nowhere."

As he advanced slowly on her, his hands still raised away from his sword, Rue finally got a good look at what he was wearing, the uniform that she had seen all along but had blanked out in the hope it wasn't true. The man was Imperial Legion. They were Imperials. Like her. And that thought forced her panicked mind into action. With a burst of speed she ran straight at the guard, slamming into him and sending him crashing into the ground in surprise. Stumbling herself, Rue forced back a wave of dizziness, and then started in the direction she had come from; pack still clutched in her hand. Or tried to at least. Before she knew it she was flat on her back on the ground. It was only as she rolled over that she realised what had happened. The soldier had recovered quickly and had grabbed hold of one of the straps on the pack as she'd started moving away. Even now he still had it in his hand, his other starting to reach towards her. In a flash the thought went through Rue's head that all she had to do was let go of the strap and run and she might still get away. But just the thought of food being so close and yet being denied to her filled her with impotent rage. So, instead of fleeing, she growled in a feral fashion and leapt at the man. Again, he seemed caught by surprise and he went over onto his back once more. But he didn't let go of the bag!

With a roar of frustration Rue bit the man's hand, driving her teeth deep into the fleshy part of his hand. With a loud shout of agony he let go, snatching his hand away from Rues mouth so fast she felt the skin tear on her teeth. As the man rolled away, cradling his forearm, Rue grabbed the pack and began to crawl away. Her mind was in chaos, the only conscious thought being that she had to get back to the trees and safety. Dimly she heard other shouts in the distance and other voices getting closer. Then she felt her arms grabbed and she was hauled to her feet roughly, her knees scrapping on the ground. A man was holding her, asking something. She could no longer understand, a horrible fog of exhaustion had enveloped her. All she saw was that awful Imperial symbol. They were going to take her back. They were going to take her back! She had to fight! With a last huge burst of energy she swung wildly at the man holding her, kicking at the other figures who were getting closer. Dimly she heard voices,

"What a hellion! Hold her, damn it, hold her, arghh…!"

"…where in the Divines did she come from?"

"…still bleeding curse it! Someone slug her one will you!"

Then a pain, on the side of her head. Then blessed darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Movement. That was what woke her. The movement of the ground underneath her, a motion that moved her body side to side. Slowly, it penetrated Rue's deep unconsciousness, causing her mind to leave the comforting blackness of oblivion and have to come back to her aching and empty body. Ever so gradually she felt herself beginning to awake, felt the pains and the torments come back to her. With effort she forced her eyes open, before having to squint them closed again as a bright shaft of sunshine nearly blinded her. She tried to bring her hands up to shade them but they felt…constricted. Her hands…they were tied. Someone had bound her hands! With that thought she felt a huge surge of panic, which rather effectively forced her sluggish body into action. With a heave she tried to stand, but found that she didn't have the strength to do more than lean her body forward. With despair she closed her eyes, scrunching them tight as if to try and blot out the world.

"Ah, you're awake, are you lass?"

A voice, from in front of her. Opening her eyes again Rue saw a man sitting across from her, looking at her with a quizzical look. Ignoring him for the moment, Rue pulled herself together. No time for despair, useless emotion that it was. Looking around, she took stock of her situation. She seemed to be in a cart, that was what the movement was, and there were three other men in it with her, all who also seemed to have their hands constrained like hers. The cart was moving along a road, trees to the side and soldiers riding on horses. That was all she could take in before an awful weakness overtook her, causing her body to fold in on itself.

"You ok there lass? Hey, lass! Look up, look at me! You ok?"

It was the first man who had spoken. His look was now if worry. Could he help?

"Water, food." Croaked Rue, her voice broken from misuse.

"What was that?"

"Water, food," she tried again, "please."

"Hey there, Imperial. You listening there?" the man called to the soldier who seemed to by driving the cart.

"What is it back there?"

"This lass doesn't look so good. Probably going to keel over any minute by the look of her,"

"What business is that of mine," said the soldier, barely even turning around.

"Prisoner or not doesn't she need to be cared of, hey soldier? Poor thing still looks barely a kid," the man said irritably, gesturing at Rue. She suppressed a bitter chuckle. If she had still been legally a kid she would probably never had had to flee. Still, she must like very thin at the moment.

The soldier looked over in her direction with what looked like a guilty expression on his face. After looking her up and down, in a fashion that made Rue want to cover her probably filthy form, the man finally called out to another soldier riding nearby.

"Hey Hadvar! See to feeding the female prisoner will you. Don't want her keeling over before we get to Helgen."

Rue didn't catch the other soldiers response as the very thought of food caused her to temporarily black out in relief.

She stirred again at the feeling of someone shaking her shoulders lightly. Opening her eyes she saw a soldier crouched on the floor of the cart, with what seemed a flask of water in his hand.

"There we are, she's awake again," said the other prisoner across from her, his body hunched up out of the soldiers way, "better hurry up before she blacks out on us."

"Hello there miss," said the soldier, concern radiating from his blue eyes, "I'm going to help you take a drink now, alright? Just take it slow."

As Rue's hands were still bound the soldier had to hold her head steady while he poured the water into her mouth. The first taste of it was euphoric; it was sweet and chill as only pure mountain water is. The soldier chuckled at her expression.

"Nothing like fresh spring water is there," he said, holding the flask steady and letting her take her time "steady there, there's plenty. Try not to spill it."

In the end she practically drained the flask and already felt better. Her mind seemed sharper and the awful scratching feeling in her throat had eased. However, she was still fiendishly hungry. The soldier, Hadvar Rue remembered the one driving the cart calling him, noted her expression and put the flask down and picked up what looked like a heel of bread. Even something as humble looking as that was enough to cause her stomach to rumble painfully. Eagerly she tried to grab at it, only to realize once again that her hands were constricted.

"My hands. Can you," she cleared her throat "can you untie them?"

"Best I don't I'm afraid," said Hadvar, with an apologetic look "look, we'll take it slow, alright. It'll be fine."

Through trial and error they found that the best method was for Hadvar to tear the bread into little bits and feed her directly. The effort to chew was hard at first but he was slow and patient and slowly she managed to wolf down the whole loaf, having sips of the water so as to keep her throat moist. Throughout the whole process one of the other prisoners had started to complain about food himself, only to have been shouted at to be silent by the soldier leading the cart. Eventually Rue's immediate hunger was sated and she felt herself starting to slip into a more natural sleep. She felt Hadvar move her slightly so she was laying against head of the cart; and then she was dead to world.

Her dreams were chaotic and harsh. Again and again she caught flashes of the life she had fled from: Master Cadia raising his cane, disciplining his "wife" for some perceived slight; watching the men clash in the yard, all blood and noise and violence; the lessons with harsh teachers, preparing her as a sacrifice and yet treating her like she was a burden. Her few bright spots sparked against the darkness of the memories; the kindness of one of the cooks, slipping her a sweet roll, pitying the child who would soon be a woman; the one soldier, Ajax, secretly teaching her how to use sword, hating that a girl as old as his daughter be there but not daring do more than teach her to defend herself; and her faint memories of the time before, a poor life, but one that didn't contain beatings and scorn. However, the bright was so small before the rest. Too much, she needed to flee. Slowly the dream began to recede. She was waking.

With a small and suppressed groan, she opened her eyes, hoping against hope that the cart had been all part of the nightmares as well. But no, here she still was, the same men and the same road and with her hands still bound; the rope still digging into the faint scars that already existed on her wrists. The only thing that was different was her. She felt stronger, more aware, more focused. The sustenance and rest had helped her; she inwardly cringed at the state she had been in, she must have seemed manic. Carefully, she made a more detailed study of those she shared the cart with, trying to determine what situation she was in. The man across from her was looking down the road, watching the snow covered trees as they moved on by. The prisoner sitting next to him on the end of the cart was dressed in commoner's clothes and his drawn and pinched face was fixed in a grimace of despair. The man sitting next to her, now he was interesting. He met her gaze frankly; his clothes looked rich and warm, his hair was a dusky blonde but his probably handsome features were obscured by a large cloth gag. She looked away from his eyes, too much interest in them, and saw that the man across from her had noticed her.

"Hey you. Finally awake. You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us. And that thief over there."

"Damn you Stormcloaks," growled the despair racked man, his eyes now glinting with anger, "Skyrim was fine till you came along. Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you I'd have stolen that horse and been half-way to Hammerfell."

"You there," he said, addressing Rue, "it's these Stormcloaks the empire wants, not us!"

"And yet here we are," Rue answered, shaking her head, "so they must want us for something. Best to wait and see what's to happen"

"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now thief," said the man across from her agreed, giving her a nod of approval.

"Shut up back there!" yelled the soldier leading the cart, glaring at Rue in particular.

Silence reigned for a few moments as each person turned back to their thoughts. Rue pondered whether being captured by the empire for an unrelated crime was ironic or not, considering her runaway status. Surely Master Cadia would have sent out messages about her; it had been almost three weeks. With a shudder she realized that she still referred to him as Master. Not Master – just Brexis. Brexis Cadia; lord of the noble Cadia family with extensive holdings in Bruma and much of the rest of Cryrodill. An amoral, violent and harsh man; with a constraining sense of pride in his position as a noble which alone restricted him from the worst excesses of behaviour.

"What's wrong with him," queried the thief, shaking Rue from her grim line of thought.

"Watch your tongue," retorted the man across from her, his face turning red with outrage "you're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King!"

"Ulfric, the Yarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of the rebellion. But if they've captured you…" the thief's tone turned panicked, "oh gods, where are they taking us!"

"I don't know where we're going. But Sovengard awaits." The man's face had turned sombre at the thought.

"This can't be happening this can't be happening!" wailed the thief, his tone now on the edge of hysteria.

The man's fear was starting to make Rue notice her own fear; though hers was less to do with death and more to do with recognition. She caught the man across from hers eye and nodded in the thief's direction. He seemed to understand what she wanted because his voice was soft when he asked

"Hey, what village are you from horse-thief?"

"Why do you care," replied the man sullenly.

"A Nords last thoughts should be of home."

It was a grim thing to say but in some ways it seemed to calm the man down. There was silence for a few moments, in which Rue took the time to notice that there seemed to be town drawing near. Dimly, she heard the thief start speaking again, too distracted to hear his answer. But she heard clearly the name one of the soldiers called out

"General Tullius sir…!"

At the sound of that Rue ducked her head down, staring at the floor of the cart in the vain hope to hide her features, causing the man across from her to stare at her strangely. That was a name she remembered and recognised. General Tullius had been visiting through Bruma a few months ago and Brexis had hosted him as many times as he could; using the opportunities to bray about his own families military achievements and show off Rue, his sparkling little prize. To his credit, the General had seemed annoyed by the whole process but he had gotten a good look at her, Brexis had made sure of that. Wrapped up in her own thoughts she barely noticed the back and forth between the men in the cart, or the town as they passed it. But it seemed that they had passed the General, that was the important thing. The man across from her seemed wistful, talking about how safe the high Imperial walls used to seem to him. To that, Rue could relate. When she was young, the symbols of the Empire had always seemed comforting to her too; a sign that, no matter how tough her life was, she was part of something greater. That of course changed later on.

Slowly, the carts came to a stop in a small alcove, with thief getting more and more agitated.

"Why are we stopping," he bleated.

"Why do you think," said the man across from Rue, mirroring her thoughts, "end of the line."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three  
**

End of the line. Those words tolled like a funeral bell for Rue. Since gaining consciousness properly she'd been too caught up in just being able to think clearly again to, ironically, think clearly about where they were going. The man across from her caught her eye and said, solemnly

"Well, lets go. Shouldn't keep the gods waiting, should we."

For a few moments Rue found herself rooted to the seat, blanking out the bustling and noise around her as the soldiers chivvied the prisoners off the carts. Her mind whirled with sudden possibilities and plans; all appearing and being discarded in the blink off an eye.

"Hey you there, you filthy lass, off the cart with you!" shouted the driver, noticing that Rue had yet to get up. She glanced at him, barely seeing him clearly, only seeing his hand inching towards his blade. In a daze she stood up and followed the others, ignoring the thief's panicked babbling as it too closely mirrored her own internal thoughts. Was this truly it? Was this as far as she got?

"Come forward when we call your names, one at time!" shouted the soldier overseeing the process; a stern faced woman looking over at them with evident disdain in her eyes.

Rue recognized the man holding the list, he was the soldier who had fed her, Hadar? Hodar? Ah, Hadvar. He even seemed to glance in her direction slightly before her began reading.

"Ulfric Stormcloak, Yarl of Windhelm"

The man stepped forward and walked with dignity towards the stone keep. While the man next to her spoke a goodbye Rue felt her panic rising; not just only her panic at the approaching fate but also a panic for her own honour. Would she be able to stride with such pride?

"Ralof, of Riverwood"

The man next to her gave her a look of solidarity before walking off after his king. Now it was just Rue and the ever increasingly twitchy thief.

"Lokir, of Rorikstead"

"No, I'm not a rebel, you can't do this!" said Lokir in a panic, his body tensing.

Rue could see what he was going to do just before he did it and it sent her mind into overdrive. As Lokir ran forward, crashing past the guards in front of him, Rue scanned around the town, looking for an opening where she could make her own escape. Unfortunately, her mind was still not running as quick as she needed it too and her plans died as quickly as Lokir did. Dispassionately, she watched as the archer who had shot him down walked over and casually pulled his arrow out of the mans back. An ignoble death indeed.

Finally, Rue's turn. With the woman glaring at her she stepped forward. The soldier, Hadvar, looked down at his list and then at her again, before saying

"You there, lass. You were the one from last night weren't you?"

The question seemed so redundant that Rue didn't really feel like answering.

"You were a like a wild Khajit alright," he said chuckling, ignoring the glare from the driver of Rue's cart (It was now she noticed the deep indents in the mans hand; no wonder at his attitude towards her really), "You're obviously Imperial lass. Who are you?" Hadvar asked, genuine concern now showing on his face.

In that moment Rue realized this was it. All she had to do was tell them her name and they would let her go! Anyone of the Legion was bound to recognize the Cadia name! With Hadvar looking at her with interest she opened her mouth to answer...and then stopped. What was she doing! Why was she here in the first place! Would she invoke _his_ name and, what? Be escorted back home? Have her freedom curtailed once again; be regulated once more to a pretty possession, a sexual plaything, an asset and a game piece? Was she that much of a _coward?!_ Stubbornly she closed her mouth and stared at the soldier impassively. Hadvar waited a few more seconds, drawing out the moment. But Rue gave nothing back. Whatever sympathy he had for her was not needed. Reluctantly, it seemed ,Hadvar turned to his commander and said,

"Captain what should we do? She's not on the list, should we..."

The soldier gave Rue an insulting up and down and gave her a look she very much recognized. The other society ladies had looked at her that way; utter disdain, contempt and a little, just a little, bit envious. Rue was beautiful, that she knew and could say with no pretension. Her hair was beautiful, ebony and wavy (usually anyway, now it looked like a ragged mess) and framed a face that had an elfin like delicateness. Her body was young, athletic and firm, but still curved in all the right places. Her eyes were the part that stirred the most jealousy though; gorgeous deep sapphire in colour with a piercing light that spoke of hidden depths. But, and this is where the contempt came from, she was also filthy just by what she was; even if what she was was by no choice. At least this soldier's look was more justified. Rue really was filthy at the moment, mud covered and battered.

"She goes to block, same as the others," said the Captain dismissively, already turning away.

"I'm sorry," said Hadvar, looking genuinely aggrieved it seemed to Rue, "we'll make sure to send your remains to your relatives in Cyrodiil."

That thought made her chuckle slightly as she turned away from him. It was with surprise that she felt Hadvar's hand on her arm, restraining her from going any further.

"Lass," he said, turning her slightly to look at him, "I need to know your name. Can't you give me that?"

For a moment Rue hesitated. This Hadvar seemed a good man; if anything, he reminded her of some of the nicer soldiers who had been around as she grew up, watching over her more as uncles rather than as the watchdogs they really were. Maybe she could tell him...but no, the chance he'd recognize the name was too high. She couldn't risk it. Still...

"If you want to know," she said to him, seeing his slight shock at her responding to him, "then be close to me when I'm on the block," here her lips tweaked into a slight smirk "I'll whisper it to you."

She saw him blanch as she turned away from him and walked over to where the crowd was gathered; the headstone and the executioner standing in pride of place. Upon seeing General Tullius she ducked her head behind Ralof who stood next to her, but she needn't have bothered seeing how focused the man was on Ulfic. As she listened to the Imperials general gloating over his victory Rue was surprised to notice that her previous panic had almost entirely gone, replaced with a sort of bitter amusement. Maybe it was the thought of Brexis getting delivered her headless body and his impotent rage at her fate. In some ways he was a very protective man towards her; as his possession that is, rather than as a person. Even when he beat her, and Rue couldn't suppress a shiver at that thought, he had generally tried to avoid marking her as it would spoil her overall beauty. Not that that stopped him from other punishments. So the thought of him seeing her so, ha, damaged and being not able to do a thing about it was oddly satisfying.

A loud sound pierced her thoughts, almost like a roar. She wasn't the only one who looked to sky.

"What was that," queried one of the soldiers.

"It was nothing, " said General Tulis, impatience visible on his features clear even to Rue "get on with it,"

Yes, Rue thought, turning back to her musings as she watched one of the Nords rudely interrupting the Cleric in the middle of her death rites, maybe she would call out her name at the last moment. Without flinching she watched the first man die, blood spurting from the stump of his neck while the female soldier casually booted the body aside, uncaring of the shouts of protest around her. The man had died well.

"As fearless in death, as well as in life" said Ralof, a respectful look on his face. He seemed to get it at least.

"Next, the wench in the rags!" cried the female soldier, glaring in Rue's direction.

"Captain..." Hadvar began, stepping forward, whilst placing a hand on Rue's arm, stopping her from moving any closer to the block "maybe we should discuss..."

Again, that loud sound, echoing across the square.

"There it is again," said Hadvar excitedly as the people started looking around wildly, "we should..."

"I said next prisoner soldier!" said the woman, rage flashing across her face, "we have no time for ragged thieves. Up to the block, now!"

Rue gave Hadvar a slight look and smile, before moving away from his hand and stepping towards the blood soaked patch of ground. She looked at the block, then up to see him watching her with a unhappy look on his face. Oh well, Rue thought, kneeling down, at least she'll die with someone nearby actually caring about her. It would be quite the novelty actually. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the female soldier signal the headsman. She looked Hadvar in the eye, her head turned on the block and said to him, as clearly as she could considering her position

"Rue Cadia, Bruma"

Then she turned her head to watch the axe rising. If she was going to die, if this really was it for her - the end of her amazing three weeks of inglorious freedom, mainly spent stumbling through darkened woods, dirty and dishevelled – then at least she was going to look it in the face. Ever since the first time Brexis had taken her (all panting and bestial) the day she turned 18, she had vowed never to turn her head from the awful things that happened to her. Her stubbornness and pride would not allow it. It was because of that that she was one of the first to see it.

"What in Oblivion is that!" cried out one of the men.

Rue could see it clearly. A huge beast, darker than the night, scaled and terrifying, soaring out of the sky from the direction of the nearby mountain range. It was winged and massive, with a pointed head and huge teeth. The sky seemed to darken instantly as it neared. With a mighty roar it landed on the guard tower in Rue's line of vision. Still kneeling she could see people starting to run in panic, arrows heading upwards towards it from the soldiers; the executioner briefly blocked her field of view before stumbling back as the creature gave a mighty bellow seemingly right at them. Rue felt herself collapsing over onto the ground hitting the cobbles with a hard crash. Briefly, she felt everything go dark.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four  
**

Very quickly, Rue regained her senses, pushing herself up of the ground with her elbows. Her vision, blurry from the impact of the fall, started to clear and she saw the chaos around her as men and woman ran around in panic; getting in the way and impeding the soldiers who were firing wildly into the sky. Of Hadvar was no sign, though he had probably got swept away in the group that she had glimpsed converging on the General. Getting to her feet Rue saw Ralof across the way, gesturing to her from a stone tower over the other side of where the carts had been. Breaking into a run, she sprinted across the open ground, expecting at any moment to feel an impact on her back; be it an arrow, a claw or divines knows what else. With a lurch she threw herself through the doorway, almost tripping over a Stormcloak man huddled on the floor of the small stone room, her breath coming out in harsh gasps as she watched Ralof slam and bolt the huge wooden door shut.

"What the hell is that thing!" he shouted, trying to be heard over the terrifying sounds coming from outside, "could the legends be true?"

It was then that Rue noticed who he was addressing. Jarl Ulfric seemed poised, more so than the rest of them at least, yet even he had a wild look in his eye as he said

"Legends don't burn down villages."

Looking around, Rue took stock of her situation, her breath finally calming but her heart still beating strongly. To have been so close to death, to have seen the axe rising, to suddenly this was a huge shock on her system. The tower was full of some of the other prisoners, most slumped over against the walls and seeming just as out of breath like she had been; though the man she had almost tripped over looked in a bad way. She noticed Ulfric doing his own assessing and saw how his eyes narrowed slightly as they stopped on her. The paused moment was shattered by the sound of something heavy slamming against the tower door; caving the heavy wood inwards and knocking Ralof off his feet.

"We need to move, now!" shouted the Yarl, taking command, and gesturing a soldier to run up the tower.

"Up the stairs, quick" yelled Ralof, pulling himself back to his feet, "we can try to make our way into and through the Keep from up there!"

Rue needed no encouragement, her flight instincts snapping back into gear. Clambering up the stone steps with her hands still bound was not ideal, but the thought of something having the strength to damage such a solid door being just outside helped spur her on. Behind her she could hear the other men getting to their feet and Ralof was but a step or so at her back. A few turns up the tower she saw the first man halted, staring in annoyance at the stones blocking the rest of the way

"Hey, I need a hand clearing these out of the way, so that we..."

He didn't even get to finish his sentence before the entire wall smashed inwards; a huge chunk of rock flying out and caving the mans head in. As his body went falling down the centre of the tower, Rue stumbled backwards into Ralof behind her; a move which possibly saved her life as a huge billow of flame arced into the space she had just been. Still, the heat was so intense that she felt her face singe, before the flame disappeared as quickly as it had came. With a hesitant few steps she moved towards the new gap in the tower, her foot slipping slightly on the new spray of blood and ash that was over the floor.

"You alright there? It didn't get you did?" asked Ralof in concern, his hands on her shoulders.

Rue could only nod at him, her voice still gone from the shock of the moment, her face stinging from the burn, not tearing her eyes away from the view before. Already, though it seemed it had only been a few minutes at best, Helgen was in devastation. Just from where she was standing she could see numerous wooden buildings ablaze, and the shouting and screaming was so loud as to be deafening, even as high up as she was. Even as she watched she saw the dragon (for that was all it could be, straight from the legends) swoop down and shoot a line of flame at a distant group of figures. She glanced to her side to see if Ralof had seen, but unlike her he wasn't watching the sky and was instead surveying the ground outside the tower grimly. Catching her eye, he said with a grimace,

"It looks like we're gonna have to jump out of here, no way up any more."

Rue could only stare at him blankly for a moment, before choking out, her voice still raw

"You must be joking. We're way too high up."

"Not if we aim for that building," he replied, pointing across the way, "we aim for there, the wood should break our fall," spoiling the moment by adding "probably."

With a more considered look, Rue assessed the distance. Taking out the fear, and there was ever so much of that, it really wasn't that far. Ha, jumping out of the top floor of Brexis's manor had been higher, and she'd managed that. True, she had been desperate then but, well, was this situation any different? As if to help her decide a huge roar sounded nearby, shaking the very stones of the tower and causing the other men climbing the stairs to shout out in fear. With one last look at the distance Rue looked back at Ralof and nodded to him. With an encouraging smile he stood back. Not trusting herself to dwell on the moment Rue ran forward and leapt through the hole, aiming for between the wooden beams. With a crash she slammed into one of them, ricocheting off onto the hard floor, her still bound hands barely breaking her fall. Great, more bruises to add to her already abused body. With a groan she levered herself onto her feet, looking behind her to see Ralof frantically gesturing in her direction and yelling.

"Run! We'll catch up. Go!"

In panic she ran forward, not seeing what he was seeing but trusting his guidance; narrowly avoiding a falling rock that smashed into the area behind her. Another near miss, surely she didn't have many of those left. Since that moment of having her head on the block, since the resignation of death had crept over her to then be replaced by this crazed new development, Rue had felt something burning within her, even as she picked herself up of the floor. The desire to live again, to escape, to not give up. Now, running on adrenaline, she ducked and weaved through the house and the one next to it, avoiding the shattered remnants of the once occupants lives and almost at one point tripping over the body of a soldier, his neck twisted unnaturally and his eyes staring sightlessly at the sky.

Coming out into the open again she saw a group of people up against the side of another building. Instantly, she recognized the Imperial soldier with them. Grabbing hold of a boy and pulling him to safety just as a billow of flame tore down the street, the soldier, Hadvar, saw her standing there. Passing the boy over to the safe keeping of the other man with him, he walked over to Rue, a slight smile forming on his face.

"Still alive are we then prisoner? How are you doing?" he inquired politely, stepping up close to her, his kind brown eyes taking in the fresh scrapes and scuffs on her body.

"Fine I suppose, for the moment," Rue replied, a small smile of her own quirking on her lips, the absurdity of his manners in this extreme situation striking her as funny "though not for much longer if we stay here, that's for sure."

He seemed surprised at her answering smile, his eyes widening before replying.

"That's the truth. Well, stick close to me and we'll see if we can make it out of here." With this he clapped her on the arm, a companionably gesture.

"Gunnar," he called to the other man, who held the trembling boy in his arms "take care of the boy. I have to find General Tullius and join the defence."

"God's go with you Hadvar" choked out the man.

With a visible deep breath Hadvar took off, his sword drawn; for all the good it would do thought Rue, following after him, sparing a quick sympathetic glance for the boy who stared after them with trembling eyes. Out into the open again. Rue felt her skin crawling and her back clenching as she pelted after Hadvar as quick as she could, her rough prisoners shoes scuffing against the dirt of the road. Another body on the road, charred almost beyond recognition, only added to the unbearable tension. Luckily cover was just ahead, an alley between a high stone wall and another house.

"Stay close to the wall," yelled Hadvar, turning back to look in Rues direction.

Though he called it, Rue was the one to see it first, looking at the sky as she was. With a spurt of speed she caught up with Hadvar in a flash and grabbed hold of him, pulling him to the wall just as a huge figure landed on it. A massive wing slammed into Rue, its leathery hide pushing her farther back into Hadvar who grabbed hold of her and wrapped his arms around her, metal and leather rubbing roughly against her cheek. Above, a scaly head reached out, a black shadow on the sky, and a shot a massive huff of fire across the path ahead of them. Dimly, over the loud crackling of the flame, Rue heard an agonized scream, which abruptly cut off. With the ground shaking the creature took off again, seemingly not having seen them huddled there. Rue realized Hadvar still held her and, worst of all, she was holding onto him too. Reflexively she pushed out of his arms and pulled away from him; a very different fear filling her. He didn't seem to notice though; staring up the way the dragon had flown he instead seemed to be muttering dire thoughts to himself. Rue saw him visibly shake himself, before looking back towards her and reaching out to her.

"Quickly, follow me!"

"I know that," she snapped back, still shaken by more than just the dragon, ignoring the hand held out towards her, "I'm just waiting on you, soldier."

"Very well," he said, drawing back slightly with a puzzled look briefly flashing across his face, "lets get moving then."

Starting forward he ran up the small wooden steps in front of them, Rue closely behind, both of them unconsciously averting their eyes from the cooked figure of the unfortunate guardsmen. Rue in particular found herself gagging, and not because the smell was bad; in fact, the smell of roasted meat actually made her stomach rumble painfully as they ran past. Dodging through another ruined building they came back into the open, coming across what looked like a concentrated group of Imperials. A few were down, one bleeding profusely, while the others were futility firing into the sky with whatever they had to hand, shouting out curses as they did.

"Hadvar, there you are," yelled one, fire bursting from their palms as they aimed upwards, "I thought you were toast when we got separated back there."

"Just temporary my friend," he replied, as Rue stepped slightly behind him, blocking herself from the view of the other soldier, "where's the General?"

"Just over there. Hurry, I think we're pulling out, though he might want to hunt down the prisoners. Damn the Stormcloak's, I just want to get out of here."

That was a sentiment Rue could particularly get behind. No way this town was going to be her tomb she'd decided. Considering she too was a prisoner, maybe sticking so close to Hadvar wasn't the smartest choice really but for now she didn't really have a choice. Also, previous moment aside, he seemed a good sort. After meeting so many of the...other kind, Rue had pretty decent instincts in picking out the good ones. Barely sparing her glance Hadvar pressed on and she stepped quickly to keep up with him, dodging past a man holding a bow upwards and wearing a determined expression. Maybe even the same soldier who'd shot the poor coward thief in the back. Not a comforting thought Rue realized, hoping they didn't look too closely in her direction.

Together they barrelled down the main cobbled road of the town. Rue thought she heard someone shout orders in their direction, maybe even Tullius himself, but was too distracted by a huge shadow flying overhead. Hadvar seemed to notice it too as he speed up even more and, almost side by side at this point, they came out into a wide open stretch of town. Suddenly, Hadvar stopped suddenly, causing Rue to stop also and look at him in confusion, only noticing who he had seen when he growled.

"Ralof, you traitor. Where do you think you're going?!"

His blond locks wild and clutching an iron axe in his hands, Ralof was running across the square but he stopped when he saw them. With a glare he yelled defiantly

"A pox on you Imperials! We're getting out of here and you're not stopping me this time Hadvar. Don't even try."

Rue saw Hadvar's hand tightening on his sword, and Ralof raised his axe threateningly, and for a moment she truly thought that the two idiots where really going to do it; fight it out while all around them the town burned. But luckily some sense seemed to prevail and Hadvar lowered his sword, instead cursing and saying through gritted teeth,

"Fine. I hope the dragon takes you all to Sovngard. The sooner, the blasted better."

Watching them carefully, Ralof ran past them, before pausing again and looking straight into Rue's eyes. With a muffled gasp she stared back, caught in that dark gaze.

"You there, lass, quickly. Lets get out of here, the Imperials will be after us again soon. Follow me."

For a moment she hesitated and then wondered even why she was hesitating. For survival the Stormcloaks were clearly the better choice; for one thing, they hadn't just tried to bleeding cut her head off, notwithstanding the whole escaped fugitive business. Kinda important that. Without taking her eyes from his, Rue took a few steps towards Ralof, not even looking in Hadvar's direction.

"Rue"

The name seemed to be spoken quietly, but, to her, it seemed louder than any of the commotion around her. Swinging her eyes abruptly from Ralof she saw Hadvar looking at her, his lips turning upwards slightly.

"Come with me. We'll get out of here. I promise."

Then, without looking back he ran towards the Keep. Without even realizing it Rue was following him again, ignoring the yell of frustration from Ralof's direction. Why was she going after the Imperial soldier of all people? her mind screeched. Where was that so boasted survival instinct now; the same one that had guided her so well during the three hellish years of adulthood in the Cadia household? Maybe it was the eyes, she thought, reaching the heavy door to the Keep just behind the man in front of her; they reminded her so much of Ajax, one of her few bright spots in the dark miasma that was her past. Or maybe it really was as simple a fact that he had heard and understood her name. With the door held open, Hadvar gestured her in, keeping a close eye on the sky, before closing it behind himself as he came in after her.

Inside, possibly safe, at least for the moment, Rue took stock of where she was. It was better than looking at the man she had followed and examining her own motivations, confusing as they probably were. Hadvar made some comment about them being the only ones that seemed to make it, not making her feel any more secure about being alone with this man who was essentially a stranger. No, better not to dwell on that. Focus. See where she was. The room seemed to be a barracks of some kind; with beds barely made and scattered bits and bobs around the place a testament to the everyday nature of the place. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Hadvar was looking at her, but she wasn't ready yet, so instead she walked over to the table to the side of the room where she could see some food had been left behind. Her hunger returning full force she went to grab hold of a hunk of cheese only to remember that her damn hands were still bound. As she grunted in irritation she heard a chuckle right behind her, making her jump a little at its proximity.

"Here, let me get those bindings off you. I doubt I'm going to get in trouble for it any more, am I" he said, gesturing with his dagger at her as she grudgingly turned to look at him, "come on. Let me. Please. As an apology for not being able to do it before I'll be extra nice."

With a small glare she put her hands out, not sure if she was so comfortable with his familiar attitude now that they were alone. She felt her body tensing again as he reached out to her, ready for anything; fight, flight, she wasn't sure. Rue didn't know if Hadvar noticed anything about it at all but he seemed to go slowly, very lightly touching her hands and delicately sawing through the tight leather bindings; not taking his eyes from hers the whole time. Though there seemed to still be amusement in his look, his movements showed clear control. At his careful motions she felt herself relaxing slightly; which is probably why, when the restraint finally snapped, she didn't immediately flinch away when he kept his hands on hers. She saw him look down and really look at the scars around her wrists, obviously noting how old most of the faint marks under the new scars were. She kept calm for a moment longer but when his thumb started almost caressing her palm she had to pull her hands away, turning away from him again before she was once again got caught by those kind eyes. Grabbing hold of the hunk of cheese she devoured it in a few quick bites, the pungent and sharp taste serving to both temporarily sate and sharpen her appetite. She thought she heard Hadvar chuckle again, though his face was carefully blank when she glared at him, before perching herself on a chair and helping herself to the scraps of beef and bread. Hadvar also sat down briefly at the table, reaching out and taking a bread roll from the small pile that Rue had her eye on. For a quick interlude they both focused on filling their bellies and, though Rue wasn't sure if it was the same for him but thinking that it was most likely, also letting their nerves settle down after the huge adrenaline rush that was the ordeal outside. A brief moment of rest, before the next stage of their ordeal began.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

The break was all too momentary, the needs of the present enforced by the continued sound of roars from outside, though thankfully muted by the thick Keep walls. With her belly now full for the first time in weeks Rue felt a moment of almost contentment, which was instantly shattered when Hadvar spoke up again.

"Rue...Cardiha, right? That is what you said, wasn't it?" Looking at her again, his eyes taking in way too much.

She froze briefly, before giving a shaky chuckle. Already, she was regretting her impulse to let this man know her name, even if he had luckily misheard the most important part.

"Just Rue would be fine," she replied, flickering her gaze to him and then back away again, "I didn't think you would understand. You've got good eyes."

"Best in the army, hawk of the Legion" he joked, still staring at her intently, "but, its a pretty name, why were you so reluctant to..."

With that Rue abruptly stood up and strode away from the table, interrupting him by saying.

"No time to sit around, is there. Come on, lets get to moving. I doubt the dragon will wait around forever."

"Very well," he said eventually, clearly reluctant to drop the subject but understanding the necessity, "take a look around. There should be plenty of gear to choose from. Maybe you can find something that's a little more, um, covering."

With that he gestured at her up and down, causing Rue to truly take notice of how she looked. In all the confusion and chaos she'd barely had a moment to check herself out beyond cursory examinations of new bruises. Her rough prisoners smock was ripped and tattered in way too many places and, with an indignant and irritated blush, she realized that a lot of flesh was on show; though her skinny form couldn't look all that appealing really. Still, she found she couldn't look Hadvar in the eye, afraid of what she would see there, as she began to look around quickly for something more decent to wear. With quick strides she walked over to personal chests by the barracks beds, determined to find a shirt or tunic or anything; anything to cover her exposed body would be fine. Unfortunately, she discovered, after rummaging around in a couple of the open containers, the pickings were pretty slim; most of the soldiers stationed in this room must have been pretty hulking by the size of the few items she found. Finally, she found a faded red tunic that looked alright, with a worn leather belt and pair of loose leggings along with it. Now the difficult part. Clutching the items to her she sought out Hadvar with her eyes. He was on the other side of the room, going through an equipment chest and taking various items out of it. When he looked up and saw her looking at him he stopped and then, seeing the clothes in her arms, smiled at her and then very clearly turned his back.

It was a small courtesy but welcome. Still, Rue was not ready to completely trust this man that quickly (she wasn't that naive, not any more; sometimes manners can hide the worst of men), so she kept a close eye on his turned back while she struggled out her battered rags. To get out of the smoke smelling and dirt-encrusted clothing was a relief, as was being able to put on something fresh. The tunic smelled faintly musty but was wonderful compared to what she had had on. Rue did wish though that she had some way to clean herself; looking at her now no one would be able to guess it but in truth she was usually pretty fastidious about her hygiene. Growing up and living in a rich household, truly one of the only perks was the ability to wash regularly in hot water; the upstairs of the mansion having a copper bathtub able to be filled with magically heated steaming water. Belting the loose clothes as tightly as she could around her waist, with even the furthest notch not really being enough - by the Eight she really had lost weight - Rue felt more human again. Seeing that Hadvar still was facing the other way she decided to take pity on him.

"I'm done now, you can turn round," she said, and then, grudgingly, as he stood up and turned to look at her, "and, um, thank you. For pointing, it, out."

"You're welcome, of course," he said, looking her up and down, making her bristle with anxiety for a moment, "but you'll probably need something sturdier as well."

Reaching behind him he picked up and showed her what he'd been rummaging around for.

Rue walked over to him and assessed what he was holding. Imperial Legion armor, slightly battered but definitely in better shape than the clothes she was wearing. Taking the leather breastplate from his hands she noticed that in seemed close to her size. That made her feel a little better about the way he'd eyed her; obviously he'd been taking in her physique. At least she hoped that's all it was. She mentally shook herself at that thought. It was possible to be too paranoid; being overly suspicious was really a sign of weakness, she decided. She gave Hadvar a nod and slight smile of thanks, which he returned before leaving her with the armor he'd collected for her and walking away towards the weapon rack on the wall. For a moment, Rue took in the pile of equipment. She'd never been overly fond of armor; her soldier instructor Ajax had made her try different weights a number of times to help her understand weaknesses and strengths of the protection but she usually found it overly bulky and constricting. This stuff looked light enough though she thought, taking in the leather boots and gloves that Hadvar had found as well. She had certainly worn armor like it often enough to be comfortable with how it worked. Still, to wear Legion armor to protect her...her mouth quirked a little at the irony.

"Do you need a hand putting it on lass?" Hadvar asked, misinterpreting her hesitation, glancing in her direction while weighing an iron blade with his hands.

"I can handle it," she said back, refocusing her mind on the present.

With swift motions she pulled the boots on (praise be, they actually fit perfectly, a stroke of luck!) and proceeded to buckle the armor on. Unfortunately, there was no real way to hide how practiced she was at the process and she could feel Hadvar's eyes assessing her once again. Always with those eyes! As she tried fitting the helmet on, before giving up and throwing it aside due to its overly large size - no way would that be safe - she could see him opening his mouth; no doubt again going to ask some inquiring question she didn't want to answer.

"Is that for me then," she asked him abruptly, pointing at the sword he was holding and effectively cutting him off, "throw it here and I'll give it a try."

He looked a little peeved, but threw it to her anyway. Deftly she caught it by the handle. It was a standard Imperial sword, practically a twin to the one still sticking out of the side of a wolf out in the forest and the same type she had trained with most of the time at the Cadia manor. She had always wondered exactly why Brexis had allowed her to train so. Did he like the novelty of having a swords-woman for a wife, a funny little quirk to show off to his vapid or jealous friends and colleagues? Of did he like the toned body it gave her? Or perhaps, when he realized she enjoyed it, it was simply so he'd have something else to take away, if he wished. Whatever the reason, she was glad for it. She gave it a few cursory swings to test its weight, once again forestalling Hadvar who had clearly been about to ask her to do just that, and found it fit her perfectly adequately.

"Lets get moving then shall we," she said, turning to Hadvar decisively, "the longer we hang around here the greater chance that beast is going to come crashing through."

"Right you are," he replied obviously deciding to leave the questioning for the moment, "lets head down this passage and deeper through the Keep. There's an exit on the other side that leads to the main gate of the town."

Pulling an iron chain Hadvar opened the bars that had blocked the way forward. Together they set of down the stone corridor, Rue shrugging her shoulders every now and then trying to get her armor to settle better. A few quick turns and other voices suddenly drifted down the passage from the large room up ahead, causing Rue to stop and cock her head. Their accents were familiar. Hadvar paused for a moment like Rue before saying,

"Hear that? Stormcloak's, it sounds like. Probably ran in here while the main force were occupied."

Rue recognized that as well, as well she recognized the way that Hadvar had tightly gripped his blade. However, after glancing in her direction, his hand unclasped on the blade and he instead said ruefully,

"Perhaps we can reason with them."

Rue couldn't hide a small sigh of relief at that. While no coward and certainly no follower of their cause she didn't really have a wish to be fighting her erstwhile execution buddies. Opening the bars in the way they both heading into the chamber, causing both of the people in it to jump up in surprise. However, despite the way that Hadvar raised his hands non-threateningly and prepared to speak, it seemed peace was no option here.

"Death to the Empire!" yelled one of the men viciously, unsheathing the massive two handed blade from his back and advancing on the two of them with purposeful strides. With a curse Hadvar drew his blade and Rue was shocked to realize that hers was already in her hand; clearly, her body had quicker reactions than she gave it credit for. It was a good thing as well as the Stormcloak suddenly cried and lunged forward, swinging his sword in an arc at the both of them. Rue deflected the blow with her own sword but found herself knocked over. On instinct again she rolled backwards a few times before rapidly pulling herself back to her feet, her natural speed beginning to reassert itself now her body had finally had some sustenance. It was a good thing as well as once again she had to block another wild swing, the man's natural strength causing her arm to buckle slightly. Still, she took the blow, and squared herself up for the fight. The man also paused for a moment, obviously reassessing this slight woman in front of him. The pause allowed her to quickly check on Hadvar; he was locked in combat with the other Stormcloak, a woman bashing away at him with a mace, it's heavy head crashing against his shield while he cursed and tried to talk some sense into her.

Quickly Rue was dragged back to her own situation though as the man swung at her once more, pushing forward into her space and clearly trying to overwhelm her. But she had his measure now, her training clicking back into place. Though strong the man was obviously exhausted, probably having banked on ending the fight in the first few seconds. As she nimbly dodged his blows Rue felt her frustration and anger starting to grow. She even recognized this man, he had been in the cart next to hers and in the tower with Ulfric; yet all he saw was the armor she was wearing. The armor she'd put on for protection. Irony, or maybe just bad bloody luck, indeed. The blade nicked her arm (another cut to add to the myriad of others) and the man grinned fiercely at her cry, stoking her anger even higher. Not like this, not by some scrub Northman after so much damn struggle! Gritting her teeth she went on the attack herself, cutting at him with much more precision than he had at her. Her short sword snaked out, nicking his skin in places and causing red to begin to drip down him. Now he was on the defense and it was her grinning, caught up in the crazed energy of it all. With a wild cry he swung a desperate swing at at her, which once again she side stepped with barely an effort, and, the man clearly overbalanced, exposed his side to her. Ajax's voice spoke in her head,

" _Just under the ribs," he had said, gesturing to himself while Rue stood panting in front of him, sweating from their long spar, "that's where to strike. If you get the chance there's usually a gap or weakness in the armor there. Take the blow if you get the shot."_

So, automatically, Rue took the strike.

It was only once she was past him and she'd dragged her blade out of his flesh that she even registered what she'd done. The man seemed the same; the shock and confusion in his face as he turned to look at her froze Rue on the spot. Then, blade crashing from his nerveless hands, the man sunk to the floor, his body giving up instantly as the damage caught up with him. The moment stretched for what seemed forever before Rue was rudely shaken out of her daze by a loud cry of,

"You bitch! I'll get you for that!"

She swung round to see the other Stormcloak running towards her, rage and grief twisting her face into a terrifying grimace. Clumsily, Rue raised her sword again, her earlier grace fled from her in the shock. She needn't have bothered though; the woman barely got a few steps closer before she stiffened in pain as she was run through from behind by Hadvar, his blade cutting cleanly into her back and out of her chest. With a bloody gurgle she too collapsed to the ground, her face never leaving from looking in Rue's direction. Pulling his sword free Hadvar walked towards Rue, his face so coldly angry that it caused her to unconsciously flinch away from him.

"Well, that's the end of that," he said grimy, glaring at the now dying woman, "such a damn waste. Bloody fools, the lot of them! They never see damn reason!"

Rue tried to open her mouth to respond, to say, anything, something, but her voice caught in her throat and instead she just stood there, silent. The Stormcloak woman was still looking at her, glaring at her it seemed to Rue. Abruptly she turned away, trying to escape and instead saw the man, his corpse now slumped ungracefully on the floor, blood pooling still from his body and staining the stones red. Rue could feel, under her frozen self, panic beginning to rise. It was Hadvar who saved her, though not in the way he probably meant. Rue felt a hand on her arm and her protective instincts flared and brought her back to life; spinning, she struck out blindly. Shockingly, she actually connected, socking him squarely in the jaw. With a curse he stepped away from her; though not as loudly as she cursed holding her now stinging hand.

"Hell, hell, hell! Do you have to have such a hard damn face. By Dagon, that hurt!"

"Sorry there, I guess," he replied, seeming to settle on amusement rather than offense at her hitting him, "I just saw your arm and thought you'd need a hand."

"It's just a scratch, barely anything compared to the rest of me."

"I guess so. It has been a rough one hasn't it," he said shaking his head. While Rue looked around for something to clean her blade, her practical side coming back to the fore now that she wasn't so catatonic, she saw him look over the bodies again and shake his head. For a soldier, he certainly seemed reluctant to kill. Though, she thought walking over to a bench on the other side of the room, not so reluctant as to pass up a perfect opportunity. The woman had been a fool to turn her back on him; though, tellingly, Rue did know that he hadn't stabbed her until she was running at Rue. Picking up a discarded rag she wiped the blade down – there was surprisingly little blood on it considering now she properly looked at it, it really had been a good strike – and then proceeded to sheathe it. Her mind was already moving forward, thinking of what to do next, though she did notice that she couldn't look too closely at the shapes on the ground, instead focusing on Hadvar instead, watching as he exchanged his now dented shield for another one hanging of a hook. Despite how she felt about it, he truly did seem genuine in his desire to protect her.

He proved that again just moments later by asking,

"Are you alright though, really?" he said, his face concerned, "You seem skilled, I'll give you that no worries, but was that the first time that you had to...?"

He left the question open but Rue knew what he was asking. And the answer was probably yes; though she had slashed a few men when they had caught up to her during her initial escape and dash she didn't think her blows had been fatal (not that she had stopped around to find out). Wolves didn't count, nor did the mental murders she had made every day she was forced to share that man's bed. All the training in the world could never prepare you for that moment of seeing someones eyes fade, the shock, the horror of the body, just a sack of meat leaking fluid. With a shudder Rue realized she'd been starting to freeze up again and roughly shook herself, knowing she needed to answer Hadvar's unspoken question. Looking at him though she saw she didn't have too, her silence had said enough apparently.

"Stay strong," he told her, reaching out his arm, and then, obviously thinking better of whatever he had been about to do, settled on awkwardly patting her on the shoulder, "it might not be the best advice and might not sound great, but it gets easier. It shouldn't, but it does. Keep your head and keep your wits lass; we're not out of this yet."

"I can handle it," she replied, Hadvar sounding so like Ajax in that moment that she almost thought she was back there in the courtyard, "it won't happen again. Watch your own back, you won't have to worry about mine."

"I suppose I don't," he replied smiling, before offering her a clean rag he'd picked up, "you want to see to that scratch now girly? Or are you going to assault me again."

"We'll see," she said back, her own lips smiling at their own accord, "call me girly again and it'll happen sooner rather than later."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

As they headed out of the chamber and further down into the Keep Rue debated picking up a shield herself. In the end she followed out after Hadvar without one; best not to mess with her fighting style just yet. Together they went down the steps, Rue walking a little slower so as to avoid slipping on the moss that covered the crooked stone slabs. At the bottom Hadvar pointed down the next corridor, indicating the way to go. Dimly Rue saw another figure at the end of the way, but the distance was too far to make out whether he was friend or foe. Not that, thought Rue with a smirk, that either of the two sides in conflict here truly held those distinctions when it came to her case. Stepping forward resolutely, she started as a huge sound shook her where she stood, causing her to stumble on the suddenly rocking ground.

"Look out!" yelled Hadvar behind her, though if he was yelling for her sake or at the figure it was hard to tell. Not that it mattered. With a thunderous crash, the entire ceiling just a few steps in front of Rue collapsed downwards; burying whoever had been standing there and filling the air with sudden billowing clouds of dust and grit, causing Rue to stumble backwards and start coughing uncontrollably. Hunched forward, her eyes stinging and her ears ringing she felt Hadvar's arms around her once again, his hand rubbing her back,

"Are you alright there! Rue, you hurt!? You didn't get hit, did you?"

This time she didn't leap away from him so violently, though she did feel her skin involuntary crawl at the unwanted closeness and intimacy of his touch. With persistent, but gentle, force she moved him away from her and said, still spluttering slightly,

"I'm fine Hadvar...just, _cough,_ dust. Calm down, truly. I am fine."

"Ha, sorry there. Guess I'm still a bit keyed up myself. Just when I saw those rocks falling I really thought that...its fine, sorry again."

"What now though," asked Rue, her voice now a little more under control - though she really could use a drink – looking at the devastation that now filled the way they had been going, "do we head back up or...?"

"No, let's head down," replied Hadvar after a moments hesitation, a worried expression creasing his sturdy features, "there's meant to be caves, tunnels, chambers and the like that way. Bound to be a way out of town."

He indicated a door a little further back down the hallway that they should go through. As they headed for it Rue noticed Hadvar looking back behind him, before muttering,

"But damn, that dragon doesn't give up easy."

Rue was glad that she wasn't the only one getting jumpy, it really did seem to be aiming for them. Opening the wooden chamber door she dismissed that thought for what it clearly was, fear and paranoia, all helpfully rolled into one. The room the two of them had entered into looked to be a storeroom of some kind; just from the doorway Rue could see plenty of goods stacked against a far wall as well as a friendly cooking fire with various dead animals hanging by it.

"This will be a good place to stock up," said Hadvar, stepping past her and heading further into the chamber, "lets look around a bit and then...wait. Did you hear that?"

Rue hadn't noticed it initially upon entering, probably an after effect of what had just happened, but heard it now. Voices, the same accent as before. She and Hadvar shared a look, before both drawing their weapons, little hesitation in their movements this time. Striding forward they saw who it was; two Stormcloak soldiers were rummaging around in the sacks and barrels piled up on the other side of the room, near the way leading out. Upon seeing them the men cursed in alarm, before drawing their own weapons and squaring up aggressively. Despite her assurances to herself, Rue couldn't help feeling a small tremble of fear run down her limbs, causing the hand holding her sword to quiver. With a clench of her teeth she quashed it and instead took her stance; she was no weakling and she wouldn't become a damn burden. Seeing that they wouldn't back down – Rue noticed Hadvar to her side had also settled into a fighting position – the two men ran forward at them. "Freedom or Sovengarde!" screeched one of them; wielding a battleaxe he swung it in Rues direction. But this time she was in control and ready, her blood was pumping, and Ajax's advice was sounding in her ears.

 _The_ _sun was roasting in the sky, a molten ball in what had been an unseasonably hot summer. Still, even if it had been the depths of winter Rue felt she would have been sweating profusely anyway. The training session with Ajax had been grueling today; though never soft on her, when they were sparring at least, today he had seemed to be intentionally pushing her harder than normal. His swings at her had been hard, his movements fierce and, though Rue thought she had acquitted herself well, she was bound to have a few nasty bruises where Ajax's wooden training blade had landed clean blows on her arms. Trembling slightly now from exhaustion she saw him step forward to her, no doubt again going to sweep her own blade aside effortlessly and give her another painful reminder of her inadequacy. Still, never let it be said that she was a quitter. Gritting her teeth she rapidly stepped forward herself, surprising herself at how fast she could still move. It seemed she also caught Ajax off guard as well; for a few moments his own strike was out of place and Rue saw a perfect chance to get a good blow in. Still, she hesitated; it seemed too easy a strike. That hesitation cost her; a sudden angry expression crossing his usually kind features Ajax punched her with his free hand, catching her squarely in the chest. As she was reeling back in came his sword; with a mighty hit he thwacked her across the chest again and sent her crashing back onto the ground._

 _The pain, humiliation and struggling to breathe were bad enough; but, as she started to recover enough to sit up, rubbing at the soreness, she saw Ajax look down at her, shake his head and then say the damning words,_

" _Rue, you're weak."_

 _She wasn't going to take that, not even from one of the only men in her life she could stand to be around. Ignoring the pain, ignoring the aches, she pulled herself to her feet, and stood there glaring at him, fury lighting up her eyes._

" _How dare you! Take that back! I fight well, you even said so. I can keep going!"_

 _He looked her over and she felt herself bristling. What did he see when he looked at her? Did he see her as others of the estate seemed to; a bratty 17 year old, not a woman and yet not child; not a lady yet not a servant; to be protected yet watched, a mix of prisoner and guest? Or did he see her in the way she was starting to realize Master Cadia saw her, open lust now shining in his eyes when he took in her burgeoning curves, such hunger present there causing her to openly flinch whenever he came into view. This house had started ever so much to feel like a prison, something she knew about from her studies and how it had seemed so apt, and training was her only release from her frustrations. And now he was looking down on her. How could he!_

 _Whatever he was thinking caused Ajax to smile at her, which helped to calm her slightly._

" _You misunderstand," he said, shaking his head, "when I said you're weak I meant," and here he raised his hands to mollify her as she opened her mouth again, "that you're weak compared to men."_

" _Hear me out," he said, chuckling slightly at her aggrieved look, causing her to blush indignantly for a moment, "let me ask you something. At the start of a spar, you had a few perfect hits that you didn't take. And just now, before I knocked you down, you had another one when you got under my guard. Why didn't you take them?"_

 _Rue shrugged, suddenly feeling defensive under his questioning gaze._

" _They felt too easy. And that last one, you were giving me that."_

" _I worried that's what it was," Ajax said, shaking his head, "I was right to be angry. Rue, listen to me. What am I teaching you here?"_

" _Swordplay of course!" she answered, angered herself at this patronizing question._

" _No, I'm not!" he answered back at her as fiercely, his sudden glare causing her own anger to stutter._

" _Rue, listen," he said, gentler this time but with no less intensity, "the skills I'm teaching you, they have only one purpose. A purpose that comes from what I do. Death. Rue, I'm teaching you to kill."_

 _At that she felt herself blanch. While intellectually she knew what it was she was learning was a tool for killing, what she had enjoyed it for the exercise it gave her body and the satisfaction it gave her landing clean blows. Clearly, Ajax saw it differently._

" _Rue," he said, laying a hand on her now shaking shoulder, "I'm teaching you so that you can protect yourself. So that, if you ever have too, you know, fight, you can protect what's important."_

" _From now on," he continued, raising her head to look at her clearly, "we only continue if you understand that. This is no contest, there are no points or prizes. If someone is trying to kill you, you take them down, you put them out, in any way you can, as soon as possible. Push on too long in a fight and you will get exhausted. Answer me Rue. I need to know if you can do this."_

 _For a moment she hesitated. Did she really want this, this ability? Then, almost unbidden, Brexis's lust filled look came back to her again, the way his eyes lingered on her body, the looks she got from other soldiers and men around the estate. The fear that instilled in her and the helplessness. Her fist clenching, she looked Ajax squarely in the eye and nodded,_

" _I can do this," she said, firming herself, "I'll take them down. Whoever they may be."_

Back in the present those fateful words were clear in her mind at that moment. That's why, as she deflected the Stormcloak's axe blow, Rue allowed herself no hesitation. With a snakelike fast strike she whipped her sword across the man's throat. Carried forward by the momentum of her slash she pushed the man's body hard with her shoulder, not allowing herself to look too closely at him and risk becoming paralyzed once again. As he fell to the side, blood splashing from his throat onto the front of Rue's armour, she rushed forward, straight at the other Stormcloak. He, seemingly like Hadvar behind her if his sudden stillness was anything to go by, was gaping at the quickness of it all and barely got his sword up in time to block Rue's fierce initial attack. Her sword clanged off his but she used the motion to power her next blow, swinging at the man's leg and cutting deep into flesh there. With a loud curse of "It's just a scratch!" he backed away from her, limping slightly now, with his two-handed sword raised protectively across his body. Rue paused for a brief moment to make sure the other man was definitely down (Ajax again) before renewing her attack, pouring all her emotions into her strikes. In the end it was pure bad luck that ended the man; weathering her blows and moving backwards his heel caught on one of the sacks and he stumbled badly. Even as Rue sympathized she felt her arm almost move on its own, sliding under the man's guard and burying her blade deep into his chest. This time she didn't look away (not that she could, being so close up to him now), she owed this anonymous man that much. She saw him helplessly look down at her blade before looking at her, pain and almost a sort of bewildered confusion in his gaze. So intimately close to him she could see every crease and line on the man's bearded face. He opened his mouth to say something; to curse her or a last wish Rue would never know as the light died from his eyes and he slumped downwards, the entire weight of his body now resting on her own. Trying to be as gentle as possible, and trying to ignore the revulsion rising in her throat at the stench of blood and other smells, she shrugged the dead weight off her.

Looking down at the body, her breath coming out in harsh gasps and limbs shaking with released adrenaline, Rue had the awful yet amazing realisation that she had just killed two men in barely as many minutes. Her, who had never killed before and indeed, despite her training, actually held deep revulsion for the idea, had now three deaths to her name. Abruptly looking up she sought out Hadvar with her eyes, needing for some obscure yet truly important reason to see another living person. He was still standing in almost the same place he'd been at the start of the fight, his sword now lowered and a look on his face that Rue found hard to place. Their gazes meeting they shared a moment, her searching his regard for some clue as too his thoughts. In the end she never found out what he was thinking; breaking the look he turned away from her unexpectedly and said, not looking at the now corpses or her and walking back into the chamber,

"I was right, looks like an old storeroom. See if you can find some potions. Might come in handy."

Continuing on what he had been saying before, like the fight hadn't even happened. Whatever his reasons for doing so Rue decided to follow on from his lead; better that than dwelling on things that couldn't be changed.

"I'll..."she took a few deep breaths to calm her shaking voice before saying more strongly, "I'll check over here by the shelves, see if I can find a bag of some kind."

"Good idea," Hadvar replied, back still turned, "I'll just grab a few things then check out the way we're heading."

Walking back past the two bodies, stepping as daintily over the blood on the floor as she could, Rue wiped down her sword and armour as best she could with the now increasingly dirty rag that Hadvar had found her earlier. The blood on the sword came away cleanly, the leather, less so, but it was the best she could do with what she had. By a stroke of luck there was a knapsack by the shelf that, while a little unwieldy to carry, wouldn't impede her too much. There were a few vials on the shelf which Rue, while educated, couldn't really decipher the labels of. Turning to ask Hadvar, the question died on her tongue as she saw him studying her, a newly acquired bow hanging loosely in his hands, again with an unknowable look in his eyes. Unbidden, she actually found herself quivering a bit at the pure speculation of his gaze and a spike of fright grew in her. What did he see when he looked at her? Rue didn't know if her feelings showed on her face but, whatever it was, Hadvar shook his head and then smiled at her, the look fading. The relief that filled her at that was sharper than Rue liked really; damn did she want to start developing any real attachment to this man. Still, it was nice when he said,

"Sorry about my uselessness back there lass. It won't happen again, I promise you that. Can't have someone else stealing all the glory when the tale of the heroic escape is told."

"Not a tale I'm in a rush to hear," she replied happy to banter, even if it wasn't really her strong suit, "its a lot different when you're living it."

"Ha, that's the truth!" he smiled at her and then nodded at the potion on the shelf, "mana potion that is. Could be useful in the long run. Probably some healing ones in the barrels though."

"Thanks, I'll give it a look."

"See if there's any food in there as well," he said walking by her, before flashing another grin, "don't want you keeling over from hunger do we."

That she didn't. Filling the knapsack with the contents of one of the barrels the Stormcloaks had been looking in Rue tried to remember exactly how it had been, being that hungry. Her mind kept skirting away from it though; had she really been so bestial and desperate when she'd first come across the Imperials? The answer was probably yes but she didn't want to accept it; neither did she want to remember if Hadvar had been one of the soldier's who had initially subdued her. Better not to think on it really. Just another thing to push away; like her years from 18 to 21, like the gaunt condition of her body and especially like the corpses that were still on the floor, a constant presence. Quickly now, she made sure the glass vials were safe and secure, before filling the remaining space with some tangy looking green apples, a small loaf of bread, and, after crossing over to the spit, some haunches of cooked but cold rabbit meat. The smell was so good that she couldn't help snacking on one as she slung the sack over her shoulder, striding purposefully to join Hadvar on the other side of the chamber.

"Let's get going then," he said, leading the way through the door. On the other side he grunted in disappointment – rocks blocked one of the ways of the corridor so it seemed down really was their only option. Throwing the bone of the rabbit haunch aside she strode quickly to keep up with him as he marched off; though he did seem determined to stay ahead of her. A few flights of stairs led further deeper into the fortress. As they turned a corner, Hadvar suddenly halted her, a familiar action now. Once again sounds seemed to be coming from up ahead, sounds that sounded almost unmistakably of combat. Considering that, the filthy cage she could clearly see in her line of sight and the angered look on Hadvar's face, Rue knew that, once again, it seemed that fighting was inevitable.

"The torture room," he spat out, "Gods, I wish we didn't need these..."

Rue fervently agreed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Ha, after reading back over my previous chapter I decided to leave a little authors note here. After I realized that chapter 6 was over 3000 words covering maybe, possibly, 3 minutes of game-play I thought about skipping ahead a bit, maybe even, god forbid, actually getting out of Helgen sometime soon. Then I thought a bit and decided that I wanted this story to be in depth. Everyone knows the broad story of Skyrim (hell, you can just go play the game for that and have a great experience doing so) but this tale is meant to be a deeply personal story of Rue Cadia, mine and my partners Dragonborn and creation. So, just a heads up, while the pace might pick up a little, it's going to be a long ride.**

 **If that sounds cool, thanks for reading! Every view makes me happy to share my girl with you.**

 **Chapter Seven**

Even as they stood paused there, up the stairs from the torture room below, Rue could hear that the sounds of combat weren't abating. Hadvar seemed indecisive to move forward; constantly glancing forward, then to her and then back again, hand on his sword all along. Rue was all to happy to let him have his moment; truthfully, she was more than happy to let this little drama play out without her presence. It was probably upon hearing a clearly Imperial accent call out in anger that finally spurred a cursing Hadvar forward, with Rue following slowly behind him, really in no rush. She rounded the corner just in time to see Hadvar leap into the fray, joining combat with another Imperial soldier who had been trading blows with a Stormcloak woman. Him taking part seemed to quickly turn the tide of the fight; despite all the noise there had only been a couple of Stormcloak's fighting an equal number of soldiers and, when Hadvar struck down the one he was facing, it was then three on one. Rue found herself having to turn her head so as to not see the other individuals final moments; she might have no loyalty to anyone here but the Stormcloaks held more of her sympathy's. It took but a minute and then it was over. Looking at Hadvar, Rue could clearly see the resignation and suppressed anger in his features as he cleaned his sword and looked over the man and woman he had just helped slay. This man, she thought while stepping over to join him, really was way too gentle to be a soldier. One of the other two soldiers they had saved was panting while holding his arm, there was a deep cut there, and the other one was looking over the scene with the hint of a sneer on his face. He turned to address both Hadvar and Rue, the look of condescension present in his eyes immediately flaring her dislike.

"You fellows happened along just in time," he said, an unpleasant oily tone coloring his words, "these boys seemed a little upset at how I've been entertaining their comrades."

"Dammit man, are you saying that this is your doing!" demanded Hadvar, indicating towards an emaciated body that Rue could now see in one of the cages.

"Well of course," replied the man, seemingly taken back at the accusatory tone of Hadvar's voice, "that is my duty after all. Or is there a problem with that, private?"

"Great, we rescued a torturer!" said Rue, her instant disgust overriding her usual desire to not draw attention, "what heroes we are!"

"Well we all can't be be honorable soldiers now can we," spat back the man, before glaring at her and asking, a quizzical look in his eye "not that I'm even sure that's who you are. What's a little girl like you doing wearing our armor?"

"What business is that of yours?"

"Insolent wench!" his voice hardening he took a threatening step towards her, causing her to place her hand on her sword "how dare you speak to me that way! Maybe these Stormcloak's aren't the only ones that deserve my attention."

Rue had no idea what she would have done right at that moment if Hadvar hadn't suddenly intervened between them, holding out his hands in a placating manner to both of them but turning and addressing the fuming torturer.

"Don't you even know what's going on?" he demanded fiercely but firmly, "A dragon is attacking Helgen!"

"A dragon?" snorted the man in reply, his still glaring eyes causing Rue to have a hard time controlling her roiling anger, "Please, don't make up nonsense!"

Not being able to look at him anymore Rue turned away and scanned the room; not, to be clear to herself, because she had any fear of this man, he seemed quite the weed, but some small part of her did want to respect Hadvar's wishes to be non-violent. And, this was the plain truth, if she had to look at that slimy man any longer she would skewer him. Walking away she noticed another knapsack identical to the one she carried that seemed to have some gear in. She rummaged around in it and heard, behind her, the idiotic man concede that, just maybe, all the loud roars and crashes and fleeing soot-stained enemy soldiers might have something to do with what Hadvar was trying to tell him. Inside the leather bag was a few more potions (Rue actually thought for moment of offering one to other soldier who was still cursing while binding his cut, but immediately reconsidered; the man had been accompanying the torturer ergo he could sort himself out) and what looked like, lockpicks? Rue took out the twisted bits of metal and gave them a once over to make sure she was right. She'd read about lockpicking techniques but had never put it into practice; the prison she had been in while living in the Cadia manor wasn't one that could be escaped by simply opening a locked door. She slipped them into her bag anyway, might come in handy and she did know the theory at least. Suitably calmed down now, it had just taken getting away for a minute, she looked back at Hadvar. It seemed he had finally convinced the man of the threat, which was good, but his next words were much less so.

"Come with us." he said to the man, gesturing down the passage, "We need to get out of here."

"You have no authority over me, boy" replied the torturer imperiously.

"Didn't you hear me?" said Hadvar, exasperatedly it seemed to Rue, "I said the keep is under attack! Where's your sense of duty man!"

"Have you forgotten yourself soldier? Is that any way to talk to a superior officer!?"

"Forget the old man." piped up the other soldier, joining the conversation, "I'll come with you."

"You are my assistant, are you not?" said the torturer, glaring at the soldier with annoyance in his gaze, "Where is your loyalty?"

And just like that the two men started bickering; like the situation wasn't dire, like they weren't in any kind of hurry. By now Rue was almost vibrating with impatience and irritation. With a swift movement she grabbed Hadvar, who was standing looking at the two men with a look that seemed to mirror Rue's, and pulled him to the side. Neither of the arguers seemed to noticed; so caught up were they in there little drama.

"Why do we need them?" Rue hissed to him, "Let's just carry on and get out of here"

Hadvar seemed to hesitate for a moment, before rubbing his head with what seemed a rueful expression and answering,

"I'm not denying your skills lass, you showed me that, you really did. I'm not sure what we'll find ahead though and, truthfully, I thought they could be useful if we ran into another fight."

"So they're to help protect me, are they?" she asked, raising a sceptical eyebrow.

"Silly idea, was it?" he asked back to her, the damn man having the gall to chuckle slightly at her expression.

"Pretty much, yes." she said back, studying the other two men (who were still arguing!)

"But Hadvar" and here she properly looked him in the eye and lowered her voice, "You haven't forgotten who I am, have you? I'm an escaped prisoner, fleeing execution. Do you really think they will help protect me? Or are they more danger?"

Hadvar seemed to hesitate at that and furrowed his brow in thought, causing Rue to have a brief moment of trepidation. Had he, in all of this, really forgotten who she was? Was he reconsidering?

"Don't worry," he replied back to her, his face taking on a serious expression, "You shouldn't have gone up to that block. I believed it then and I still believe it now. I promised to get you out of here and I'll keep that word."

The intensity that was present there caused Rue both a shiver of apprehension and a small bit or relief. While she wasn't sure yet about truly placing her fate in the hands of another (that was something she didn't think she'd ever be able to do) she was starting to think that, whatever the reason, she was right to have followed this man.

"Grab what you can from those cages, we might need it. The locks shouldn't too hard and I think I saw some picks in the room over there" he said, his look lightening slightly, before glaring at the other two individuals, "These two will be coming with us, if only," and here he quirked a little smile at her, "so that they can make good arrow shields."

Rue looked after him as he walked away, her feelings...complicated. In the end she chose not to dwell on it and took his advice and went into the little room off the main chamber; with iron bars around it and shelves inside it looked like a sort of antechamber or office. The first thing that caught her eye, apart from a small sack of coins and the lockpicks that went straight into her bag, was a nice looking iron dagger. She weighed it in her hand and then decided to take it along; she had been taught to fight two-handed and she did prefer to fight with a lighter blade in her off-hand. Fortunately the leather armor she was wearing had a sheathe that it seemed to fight into perfectly; though, and here she thought irritably, the darn armor was still a little loose around her shoulders. Walking back through the main chamber to go and check out the cage Rue saw Hadvar talking quietly and firmly to the torturer ass. Whatever Hadvar was saying seemed to have shut him up, for the moment at least, so she left them to it. While she didn't feel to comfortable looting the possessions of a dead man (she still found she couldn't look too closely at the corpses on the floor, even though she hadn't had a direct hand in their deaths. Damn her weakness.), the particular corpse in this cage looked like he had been dead a good little while at least. Besides, she couldn't help but see the gleam of gold, and there was no way she was going to pass up getting some coin. No way, and here she shivered, no way was she going to go hungry again. She took a pick in her hand and checked out the lock. She hadn't thought she'd be testing out theory so soon but, well, better sooner rather than later. Inserting the piece of metal, holding the file with her other hand, she began to rotate the mechanism; trying to remember everything she had read and focus on getting the right feeling. Almost immediately she was rewarded with a satisfying click. Bemusedly she put the tools back in her bag; that had been way easier than she thought it would be. Evidently she had some skill with it. Or, she thought, trying to dispel her own feelings before they became too much like smugness, the lock had just been a very easy lock to pick. She knelt on the floor of the prison cage, doing her best to ignore the musty smell from the body that occupied it, and scooped up the coins. There also was another, mana potion was it?, as well as a book of some kind. It looked familiar to some of the other ones she had seen tucked away in the back a the Cadia library so Rue took it too; she had the space to carry it and the symbol embossed on the cover intrigued her for some reason.

Slipping the bag back over her shoulder Rue turned and had a small shock when she saw all three men looking at her. Recovering she saw that they had stopped arguing; evidently Hadvar had been able to persuade them to see sense. Whatever he had said must have been good; despite the obvious anger in his eyes, the torturer stuck to just saying a sardonic "Sure, take all my things. Please." before turning away. Rue ignored both of her new companions and instead fixed her eyes on Hadvar. He gave her a nod and then headed off, indicating with his free hand. She followed quickly, glad to be on the move once again. The four of them set off down the corridor leading through the cell block. Fortunately, for Rue's peace of mind at least, none of the cells were occupied, though one of them did have a skeleton hunched in the corner of it. She paused for a brief moment before hurrying after Hadvar who was still moving fast ahead of her; she thought she had seen something in one of the cells but decided to leave it. The rough stones of the corridor went past as she headed on, their rough hewn look making it seem as if the fortress had just been carved straight into a pre-existing cave. This theory of Rues solidified as they entered a larger chamber which had a large hole in one of its walls, with what looked like natural stone lining its sides. Hadvar hesitated before heading towards the opening; he could see as well as she could that there was no other exits down this way and there was no going back anymore. As she followed Hadvar Rue blocked out the chatter of the two men behind her; the cages that lined this particular chamber, one of them with a obviously tormented corpse still inside of it, hadn't endeared them to her anymore. Indeed, the anger that had been in her before had never really gone. Torturers. The world would be better off without the lot of them; killing was bad enough but deliberately causing pain and suffering? Wasn't life cruel enough? No matter the reason, no matter the cause, Rue would never wish that on anyone. Well, with one very justified exception.

Together, they all headed down the passage, with Rue endeavoring to stay as close to front as possible. As grateful as she was beginning to feel about Hadvar and his support she wasn't about to let him make all the decisions; and that meant staying where she could see where they were heading first. Besides, the more distance she had, the less likely someone else would get a dagger in the throat the next time she overheard an insult directed at her. Or a compliment. The other soldier, that assistant, had obviously taken the time to properly take in her looks. More fool him. It was because of this that she heard the voices up ahead at the some time as Hadvar and this time they both stopped the other one. At that Rue couldn't stop herself from sharing a brief smile with the man; even in the small amount of time they had known each other it already felt like a running joke.

"What it it?" demanded a voice behind them loudly, completely shattering the moment.

"Keep your volume down man," hissed Hadvar, giving the torturer a look of pure annoyance, "Sounds like folks up ahead. And I don't reckon that they are ours."

"Let's clear these scum then" he replied, a eager lilt to his voice, "Send them to that place in the sky they are all so eager to visit."

"I'm all for that." added the other soldier, a brutal grin lighting his face "If we rush 'em they don't stand a chance."

"Fine" conceded Hadvar

"Right, you two take point. I'll cover with my bow from the back and try and pick off any others that threaten you, and Rue," here he hesitated, his eyes flickering in her direction. After a few seconds she decided to take pity on him; clearly he didn't want to patronise her by asking her to stay out of it but also he didn't want to order her around either.

"I'll do what I'll do," she told him reassuringly, "don't worry about me."

"She'd better pull her weight" said the torturer, sniffing disdainfully, "And don't think I've forgotten about earlier girl. I'll have questions for you later."

"I look forward to that." Rue answered, with complete honesty, walking past him and looking around the corner into the chamber beyond. She really would look forward to a cast iron excuse to end him.

With a simple plan of action decided upon there didn't seem much point in discussing it further. The others seemed to feel the same way; after a quick look to assess what was there the two Imperials charged out, yelling battlecries and heading for the two nearest enemy soldiers. After a brief moment of shock the Stormcloaks quickly raised their voices as well; within seconds the large stone cave echoed with shouts, grunts and cries of "for Sovngarde!" as they two sides clashed. Rue slipped out from cover herself, sword in one hand and dagger in the other, and also went to join in; the sooner the opponents were down, the nearer to safety she would be. A couple of small stone bridges arched over the little river that flowed through the center of the cave and that was where Rue headed. The two Imperials were locked in combat with the two individuals on this side but she could see another woman heading towards her, as well as an archer who seemed to be drawing aim on her. She hunched her body, for all the good that would do, irrational fear suddenly shooting through her. She needn't had bothered though; even as she looked the man's hand shot to his own throat as an arrow pierced it. Rue didn't have time to turn and thank Hadvar, because who else could it have been, as the Stormcloak woman was now upon her. She was wielding a nasty looking hammer type weapon; no way Rue wanted that anywhere near her. Blocking the woman's initial strike with her sword she cut her wrist with her other hand; then followed with three quick strikes, each one hitting home on a different part of her opponents body. As the woman reeled back in pain Rue hacked at her face, little artistry in her blow this time. Screeching in pain the woman fell to the side, stumbling off the bridge and landing with a sickening thump onto the cave floor. Quickly Rue rushed forward and none to soon as an arrow cut through the furthest edge of her right arm. The instant pain was excruciating but she gritted her teeth and ran on, buoyed by her adrenaline and the knowledge that, if she hadn't been moving, the arrow might have actually gone into her.

Luckily Hadvar seemed once again to have spotted the danger; Rue could now see the soldier who must have shot at her dodging arrows himself. Putting on a spurt of speed Rue sprinted across the other bridge and ran towards him, sparing a glance to see how combat was going for the others. One of the Stormcloak's was down and so was the torturer but, unfortunately to Rue at least, he seemed to still be alive if his loud curses were anything to go by. His assistant seemed to be wrestling with the last opponent, both of their weapons evidently having been knocked out of their hands. Attention back to her own predicament she saw that the remaining soldier had dropped his bow and drawn his sword; obviously he intended to try a deal with her before risking getting a shot of at Hadvar. On the other side Rue almost met disaster when she slipped on a heavy oil slick that covered the stone flagstones. The instant deep fear that shot through her as she tried to keep her feet was nothing compared to the feeling that coursed in her as she saw how near her opponent had gotten. The man, close to her now, capitalized on her mistake be scoring a sickeningly deep cut into her side. It was the armor that saved her life in that moment; poorly fitted and ironic it might be but the leather was sturdy and the mans blade was prevented from cutting too deeply. Still, the pain Rue felt from the arrow was nothing on this; it was so intense as to almost make her black out. A deeply rooted survival instinct forced her to keep conscious however, and she was able to block the mans next blow with her blade; she even able to cut him with her off-hand, an almost identical strike to the one just earlier. The man jumped back and, joy of joy's, ended up slipping on the oil himself. Unlike Rue though he wasn't able to keep his feet and tumbled over. Stumbling towards him Rue stabbed downwards; the man tried futilely to deflect the sword but just ended up getting it in his throat instead of the chest.

As his body thrashed Rue found her whole weight was now resting on her sword and she was barely able to lift it. The pain she felt was massive; along with all her other cuts and scrapes she had accumulated these injuries burned at her. Potions, came a sudden thought. In her bag. Letting go of her blade (she'd get it later, it wasn't going anywhere) she swung her knapsack of her shoulder. In her haste she overbalanced herself though and, with a sinking sense of inevitability, she realized she was going to keel over. Dimly, she heard a voice yelling her name but there was no way she could answer. With her last ounce of strength she tried to position her body so as to fall in as safe way as possible and then, like a tide surging in, the pain swamped her and blackness claimed her sight.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Pain. Bright and hot pain was what brought Rue back to consciousness with a sickening intensity. With a monumental effort she opened her eyes with a loud groan; no time to sink back into that blackness just yet. Here she was on the ground again – a too common occurrence she thought wryly. It had felt like months since she had fallen but, turning her head, she realised it could have only been a few seconds – Hadvar hadn't even yet reached her; though she could clearly see the concern on his face even from where she lay as he rushed over the little stone bridge towards her. Pushing herself up using her elbows Rue groped for her knapsack which had fallen onto the ground beside her. Doing her best to ignore the sticky blood that now coated part of it – the body beside her was leaking profusely – she grabbed out one of the red potions. As she dragged it towards her though the pain flared again, harsher and stronger this time, causing her to have to let go and clutch her bleeding side in agony.

"Let me get that" said Hadvar, suddenly beside her and scooping the potion up, "quickly, get this down you."

"Thankyou" Rue gasped, way too in pain to object to his aid, even when he almost intimately held her head and helped her to drink it. Still, the closeness of him did send a shiver though her body; that, or it could have been the blood loss. The taste of the potion was invigorating and wild and almost immediately Rue felt a surge of energy rush through her. Gasping at the intensity of it she found herself suddenly on her feet, the burst of good feeling completely overwhelming everything else.

"Whoo, steady there lass," advised Hadvar, holding her shoulders lightly, "it'll take a moment for the wound to close up. Looks like that was a strong one."

"I'm fine," she said, shrugging away from him, "not the first injury I've had."

"That it isn't, is it..." he replied, looking at with a look that that Rue couldn't really describe. She averted her eyes from him and focused on keeping upright; the initial healing was done and the aches of her body were returning, if less harsh. She could even feel the flesh on her side knitting together; a deeply uncomfortable sensation that fortunately quickly passed. Taking a few deep breaths she judged herself able to move again, gingerly at least. She turned to Hadvar and saw him offering her bag to her, that small smile back on his face. It was very hard not to smile back so she didn't stop it.

"You did good there," a gesture towards the body on the ground, "you really did have some good training didn't you."

"Yes, I did," and then, before he got too curious again, or complement her apparent skills in murdering "So, we done her then" she asked. Practicalities; always a great escape.

"I guess we are, he seemed to be the last guy, poor fellow" replied Hadvar, allowing himself to be diverted, "lets see how those others managed and see about getting out of here."

"Like I care how they are" Rue couldn't help saying with a snort.

Hadvar chuckled slightly but didn't answer, instead heading back the way he came after giving one last once over with his eyes. Rue didn't follow; she could clearly still hear the sounds of loud cursing from here and she was in no rush to reacquaint herself with a pair of torturers. Besides, her legs still felt unsteady. Slowly she walked over to the wall of the cave and leant against it for a moment, closing her eyes and just focusing on her breath. Now that the fight and initial aftermath were all over she had to take a few moments to deal with her rising nausea. Two more deaths. Two more lives she had taken and the day wasn't even over yet. She could still see the gaping slash opening up on the women's face, her strong features ruined by her blow; the panic in the man's eyes as he slipped and the way his body writhed on the ground. As nasty as the images in her minds eye were she kept her eyes firmly closed; better that than having to look at the actual body not a few steps from her. Still, all too soon, she realised she couldn't just stay standing there. Reluctantly she came back to the world and moved forward, grabbing her dagger from the ground on the way. Looking as little as she could she wrenched her blade out of the man's corpse, doing her best to block the smell now rising from him. Still, despite her aversion, she couldn't help also snagging the small coin pouch she glimpsed on his belt.

Then came having to impatiently wait for Hadvar to come back. She could see him talking to the other two men on the other side of the cave; despite his obvious injury the head torturer could clearly still talk up a storm. After almost five minutes of waiting Rue had just about had enough and briefly considered heading on by herself. Maybe best to cut out alone now, she thought, I'm going to have to do it soon anyway. Besides, she wasn't sure how comfortable she was with her new feelings of dependence towards the Imperial soldier she could even now see looking over at her. Yes, he had proven his worth and his caring; yes, he had protected her and yet...Rue couldn't help it. That symbol he wore. It meant too much. And while he hadn't made any move towards her she knew he found her attractive. She wasn't being egotistical, it was just fact. Men wanted her. Still, he was obviously one of the better ones...and he could help her still. But was it worth the risk...Her thoughts chased each other around her head,negative and positive, and yet she couldn't help noticing, with that small humorous part of her mind, that her feet hadn't moved an inch. In the end the decision was made for her; she watched as Hadvar finally detached himself from the other two men and headed back to her, shaking his head ruefully.

"You'll be happy to hear," he announced when he drew abreast of her, "that they've decided to stay back and tend their wounds. They tried to convince me to stay but I ended up telling them I'll send help. Who knows," and here he smiled slightly at Rue, "maybe I'll even do that."

Rue couldn't help it, she actually laughed at that. Instantly she wished she hadn't; the widening of Hadvar's eyes said it all. Briskly she turned away from him and headed further up the pathway.

"So," she said "reckon there's actually a way out up here.

"I should hope so," he replied, slipping past her "let me go first. Just in case."

Reluctantly she let him and watched him go ahead of her. Following, she felt eyes on her. Looking across the way she saw the other two men watching their progress – even at a distance Rue could make out the disgruntled look in the head man's eyes. From some deep core of her a mischievous impulse appeared and, almost inadvertently, Rue found herself sticking her tongue out at them. Instantly she felt a blush come across her cheeks and flushing she hurried forward as quickly as her unsteady legs could carry her, not daring to look back.

"Looks like the way outs up ahead," Hadvar called back to her, "I see a bridge and lever up there."

"Sounds good," she called back, catching up to where it was standing. With a grunt Hadvar gave the lever a pull and the rickety wooden barrier blocking the tunnel fell down. Together they headed over and looked around.

"Another cave," Rue groaned, "I hope there's a way out, I really do."

"Me too," Hadvar agreed, "well at least...wait, what was that?"

A loud rumble shook the ground where they stood and Rue watched in almost weary resignation as rocks fell and blocked the way they had just came. How many times was that going to happen in one day?

"Well, damn it. No going back that way" said Hadvar ruefully "I guess we're lucky that didn't come down on top of us. We'd better push on. I'm sure the others will find another way out." They shared a look and then both shrugged. The caves it was.

Together they headed deeper into the dank tunnels. A small stream ran through the centre of the floor and they both decided to follow it for want of a better direction; though Rue got Hadvar to pause for brief moment while she rinsed the blood off her things and took a quick few gulps of the freezing but wonderfully fresh water. They hadn't followed the stream far before coming to a dead end; however, before he could start cursing too much, Rue noticed a narrow side tunnel on the right. As they headed down it though she felt her reservations rising; the skeleton on the rocky ledge leading to the path had been one thing but she couldn't help noticing the sticky and disgusting webs stuck to the walls.

"Probably Frosbite spiders," warned Hadvar, also taking note of the tunnels decorations "they like to nest in caves like this. Be wary."

Hadvar's warning of course proved accurate; upon moments of entering the next large chamber Rue found herself having to dodge to the side as a large glob of...something...flew right at her. Hissing hideously five or size massive spiders detached themselves from the ceiling and scuttled towards them, a couple spitting gunk as they came. With a disgusted growl Rue drew her blade and, after a quick shared look with Hadvar, ran at the nearest creature. With a quick blow she sheared the front legs of the first one she came across, then, pivoting smoothly, she buried her dagger into the eyes of the next closest. The squelch it made as she pulled it back out as well as its awful screech made the nausea climb back up her throat, almost distracting her as a third spider lunged at her. However, an arrow thunking into its side distracted it long enough for Rue to finish it with a well aimed strike to its mouth. Backing off she took a comfortable stance as the last couple of creatures came towards her, apparently completely unfazed by the twitching corpses already at her feet. Rue realised her hands and legs were still a little unsteady; as good as the potion had been all the fighting she'd already been through was starting to take its toll. Still, she dispatched the next spider easily enough, despite it leaping unexpectedly at her. A simple side step followed by an upwards stab and the creature tumbled to the floor, its belly eviscerated. The final spider actually seemed to hesitate – a poor move as another arrow found its way into its eye. As it writhed on the floor Rue stepped forward and quickly finished it off; as nasty as it was it didn't deserve to suffer in pain.

"By the Eight you're fast," said Hadvar admiringly, stepping up beside her as she cleaned her blade for the umpteenth time, "I barely had a chance to help."

"You're a good shot" she said back, noting the accuracy of his bow.

"Are you any good?" he asked inquisitively, retrieving his arrow from the corpse.

"I'm not sure," she replied honestly, "I've never really tried. Sword training was my speciality. Would have liked to give it a try really but, well, there wasn't much of chance when I was..."

Suddenly she stopped herself, noting the interested look in Hadvar's expression, before abruptly turning away. What was she doing, opening up again! Scowling she made to move away but then stopped when she felt a hand on her arm. Her skin crawled but, before she could pull away, she heard him say,

"Rue."

It was the way he said it. Not affectionately or harshly but, steady, serious. The same damn way he'd said it before, just before she choose to follow him over Ralof. Reluctantly she turned to face him, allowing his hand to stay where it was. Despite touching her he still was keeping his distance and his eyes looked clearly into hers.

"Rue," he repeated, "I am not trying to pry. I'm not interrogating you or trying to find a weakness or a secret. I'm just simply interested. But," and here his grip tightened ever so slightly, " I do promise you. I'm not going to harm you or turn you in or whatever it is you fear lass. Whatever you've done, whoever you are, I gave you my word to get you out of here safely. And I will keep that. So talk to me. Please."

"Hadvar, I..." Rue tried to talk but found her mouth unexpectedly dry. Swallowing, she tried again, "could you let go of me. Please."

"Of course, sorry," he said, quickly releasing her with a contrite look.

Stepping away Rue took a moment to collect herself. This day had been such a whirlwind of events and feelings and now this...she wasn't sure what to do. Could she open up. Would he help? Taking a deep breath she looked back at him. He hadn't moved and was just standing their solid, those deep eyes calmly looking into her. Another deep breath; by Kynareth why was there no air in her lungs!

"Hadvar, I..." deep breath, cough, try again, "Hadvar, thankyou. But, I can't, not yet. Its not you, I think, its just, I..." wait, was that what she'd meant to say? Why was this hard, and why wasn't he speaking, or was he and her heart was beating too hard, Gods! "what I mean to say. I'm grateful. I think. You're a good man. Not that that matters, I think. But..."

A hand on her arm again and this time it came as a relief. Something else to focus on beside what was clearly going to be an attack of hyperventilating.

"I didn't mean right now," he said, quiet humour sparking in his eyes, "we should probably get out of this cave first. Not to mention, these spiders are beginning to smell."

"I guess they are," Rue replied in relief, glad to be moving away from what was clearly an impossible subject, "lets get moving shall we. Hopefully there won't be anything else big to contend with."

"Yea, what next, giant snakes?"

"Does Skyrim have those?" she asked, following Hadvar as they left the corpses behind.

"Not to the best of my knowledge. Then again, its a big land, I haven't seen all of it. Who knows what surprises are out there."

"I certainly didn't expect a Dragon to show up. Is that normal here?" she quipped back. Banter wasn't her strong suit but anything other than getting serious again. Her heart was still beating a little too fast.

They continued in this fashion as they moved further though the cave system. Eventually they came across a stream again and decided to follow it down. While it was shallow Rue crossed over it and walked on the rocky incline on the other side and Hadvar followed her up. Moving forward they saw something rather hopeful looking; an abandoned wooden cart with what looked like food in it. Maybe there really was a way out close by. Before Rue could move too close to it and check its freshness however Hadvar lightly pulled her back.

"Watch yourself," he said, "I think that might be bear up ahead. Let's move carefully, just to be safe."

Rue rolled her eyes but decided to comply, if only to get to the food quicker. She could see it clearly now, a couple of fresh looking loaves of bread and a few vegetables; not much of a feast but her body had already burned off whatever she had gained from her last meal and she found she was starving again. It wouldn't hurt to add to what was already in her bag. Not that she'd checked on it – she hoped the blood, soaking and constant dropping hadn't messed its contents up too much. Creeping forward with Hadvar she saw now what he had. A black mass at the end of the cavern, slumped on the floor. She grabbed a few morsels of the cart and considered her next options. A fight wasn't particularly attractive, not if it could be avoided.

"I'd rather not tangle with her right now," said Hadvar beside her, echoing her thoughts, "We might be able just to sneak by. Just take it nice and slow, and watch where you step."

"Or," he added with a small smile, offering his weapon to her "if you're feeling lucky, you can take this bow. Could be good practice."

"I'd rather not start with an enraged bear if its all the same with you. Might not take to kindly to it."

"Sneaking it is then. Follow me. Lets see how light on your feet you really are."

"Lighter than you I wager."

Despite a tense moment when the bear rolled over with a loud grunt, causing them to freeze mid sneak in a manner that probably would have looked hilarious to some outside observer, both Rue and Hadvar made it to the next tunnel without incident. It was there that they both sensed it; a fresh gust of wind. With a shared look they both preceded to hurry forward, their boots skidding on the stone floor in their haste. Soon, after only a few more twists and turns, they saw it, the cavern entrance. With a cry of relief Hadvar exclaimed

"This looks like the way out! I was starting to wonder if we'd ever make it!"

The bright light from the cavern mouth was almost blinding after the gloom of being underground causing Rue to have to squint her eyes as she followed the enthusiastic Hadvar outside. The bright light of the sun peeking out from the clouds in the sky surprised her – her whole experience in Helgen seemed to have lasted an age and yet, truly, it had probably only been a few hours. They had come out onto a wide mountain path, with snow dusted pines obscuring the view down the gentle slope. Her eyes had barely adjusted however when a loud roar filled her ears. Frantically she scanned the sky before feeling herself being grabbed by Hadvar and pulled behind a large boulder to the side of the road. Shivering with newly risen adrenaline she looked upwards, a tense Hadvar crouched beside, both waiting for just a glimpse of the once legendary beast.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Even at a distance, even with it flying very clearly away from them, Rue couldn't help feeling a deep thrill of fear upon seeing the humongous dragon soaring through the sky. What a sight it made; a pitch black shadow of mass silhouetted against the overcast sky, with the smoke rising from Helgen drifting in its wake. With another loud roar it finally began to pass out of sight, heading towards the towering mountains that she could see over the tops of the trees. Still, Rue stayed where she was for a few breaths more just...being. Beside her, she felt Hadvar doing the same. For a moment she almost felt they were truly in sync; both their minds curiously empty and just enjoying a few seconds of peace, knelt together with their backs to the rock. In the end though the moment passed; shaking himself Hadvar stood and scanned the now hopefully safe sky, his broad back to Rue.

" Looks like he's gone this time. But," he said, looking back at her, "I don't think we should stick around to see if he comes back. Sovengarde knows why it appeared here and now."

"Although, what we do now...with you and me..." he continued, still facing her, hesitation entering his tone.

Rue couldn't help herself. Despite her new feelings, despite her growing trust, she still found herself suddenly tensing and moving a few sudden steps away from him and raising her arms protectively. It was only with a will of iron that she was able to stop herself reaching for her sword, but it was a close call. She had no idea what her expression was as well, not with the rush of blood now pumping through her body. Still, what she did was enough, if the flash of hurt that crossed Hadvar's face was anything to go by. And damn it all, but she realised that she cared about that, at least enough to say,

"Sorry. Didn't mean to...well, you know how it is."

"Actually, I still don't Rue," said Hadvar, his face clearing slightly, "but I won't push. And," he continued, "what I was referring to was what we should do about this Dragon that's appeared. Not what I should do with you if that was what you were worried about."

"Of course," she said back relaxing her body, a slight blush rising inadvertently on her cheeks, "I knew that."

"What I **was** thinking about us though," he said, beginning to walk down the path and indicating her to follow, "was that I don't know how much you know of Skyrim, but the closest town to us is Riverwood. My uncle's the blacksmith there. If we headed there we should reach it before nightfall. I'm sure that he'd help us out, at least for now."

After that they walked in silence for a small distance down the path, Hadvar ahead and Rue behind. Looking at his broad back again Rue began to argue with herself internally. She kind of wanted to apologise for being so defensive but another part of her was still wary of investing herself too much in someone else. In the end, after some prompting by the memories of all the concerned expression's he had shown towards her, Rue finally spoke up,

"Hadvar, wait," great, now he had paused and looked at her, no going back now, "look, what I wanted to say was...that is...damn it, I..."

"Look, Rue, its ok," Hadvar interrupted her (one hell of a relief, she had never realised how inarticulate she could be apparently), "I get it."

"You...do?" she asked haltingly. If he understood, why did he look regretful?

"It's probably best if we split up," he said, reluctance heavy in his voice, "We can meet again if you wish it, but separate ways we can..."

"No!"

A loud and desperate cry. It couldn't have come from her, could it? Though, judging by the shocked expression that was now on Hadvar's face, it must have. Clapping her hand to her mouth to prevent anything else from coming out Rue spun around and started blindly walking back up the path, having to get away, just for a moment.

"Wait, Rue, stop!" said that damnable voice, halting her in her tracks despite her rising panic. In that moment she felt a flash of pure self-disgust for her own weakness. She hated having so little control over herself. Still, with only a little thought, it wasn't much to know why it was. May the Daedra take Brexis for making her like this; for causing her to flinch so at even the thought of getting to know someone. To make trusting a man a source of panic. The old scars on her wrists and on her body seemed to throb in remembrance – getting too close to another person had always been a sure fire way to raise her former masters ire. A hand on her arm; ever so light and yet the feeling behind it seemed to weigh on Rue like an iron weight.

"I'll stay with you, if you wish it," said Hadvar gently, "I only thought you might be more comfortable without me is all. I didn't want to split up, you know that lass."

Rue struggled briefly with herself again whilst Hadvar waited patiently. Stubbornness won, as it always did. If it was Brexis's influence that was causing her to not trust, to pull away, then like hell she was going to give in to it.

"Hadvar," taking a deep breath she turned and looked squarely into his eyes, letting him see clearly into the sapphire depths of hers, "I'm going to trust you. Lets travel together. I'd...I'd like that."

"At least," she added with a small smile, mirroring the one that she could see spreading across his face, "for as long as we last. With the way this day has gone, surely trolls and demons are only a step behind."

"Ha, I shouldn't worry about anything like that," Hadvar exclaimed, obvious relief in his eyes, "With a warrior like you by my side we'll surely make short work of any danger!"

Gently, he let go of her arm, still smiling at her. She smiled back again and then, feeling nerves rising at their lengthening intimacy, indicated with her free hand down the path. Luckily he took the hint, turned away and began walking back down the path; though staying very close to her.

"One last thing," he said, twisting his head to look at her, "Riverwood. That going to be alright with you?"

"I don't see why not," Rue replied, giving a small shrug, "Any where's the same for me. Besides," a scowl of slight disgust, "some new clothes could be good. These ones have started to tear."

"Look fine to me," he said complimentary and, before her hackles could rise too much, he added, "just needs a small bit of smithing and should be good as new."

Oh, he was referring to the armour, she thought in relief.

Practically side by side they made their way, dirt path twisting down the gentle slope. The now silence between them was comfortable; or, at least it was to Rue but, judging by the small smile on his face, Hadvar felt the same. For a moment she decided to let her worries about the immediate future go and appreciatively took in the fresh smell of the ferns and trees that lined the dirt to her sides. Her experience escaping Bruma had been so stressful and nightmarish that she hadn't truly had time to appreciate the beauty of the woods she had been fleeing through. And on the cart she'd been so out of it with hunger and fear that she'd barely paid any real attention to the environment. But now, walking in relative peace with a sort of trusted companion at her side, she was able to take in how different being here was to her life cooped up in the Cadia estate. There it had always been the confines of the manor or the odd trip into the town. All grey stone and dirty streets. And, the few times they had left she had always felt the eyes on her; though Brexis called her wife everyone knew her as the prisoner and slave she really was and took the necessary precautions. Time after time, especially on the bad days when Brexis was in one of his...moods...she had dreamt of walking among the trees, no one around her, no one watching. And finally here she was. Since her escape all those weeks ago Rue realised that this, right now, as battered as she evidently as and even with Hadvar's presence at her side, this right here was the first time she had ever actually felt...free. And she was alive. Despite all the chaos, despite a dragon and an execution, almost starvation, wolves and fighting, she had made it, she had survived.

"Hadvar."

The seriousness of her voice stopped him and he looked at her with a cocked eyebrow.

"Hadvar," she continued, "I'll be grateful for a night's rest where we're heading, but thats not enough. I want to survive. I don't know this land or it's ways. But I want to live. I've come too far and done to much to just trust to luck anymore. I've decided to trust you, so I'm asking you," she looked fully at him, "what do **you** think I should do next."

He seemed to take a moment to collect himself, probably thrown by the gravity of her request.

"You know, this might be easier if I knew more about you. Not that I'm pushing again," he said holding up his hands placating as Rue felt herself scowl instinctively at him, "It would just be useful knowing what you're background was."

"Still, I know you can fight. You're a tough little thing, can't be disputing that. Can't shot a bow apparently but no-ones perfect, even a pretty one like you" a chuckle at her irked glare, "and you do look good in that armour..."

"Lass, I," he stopped and then, rubbing the back of his head ruefully continued, "I don't know your history with the Empire obviously but, and hear me out here, I was thinking you should try joining the Legion."

For a moment she actually thought he was jesting. Another bit of banter to go along with the crack about the uniform suiting her. But he didn't follow it up with a laugh and, almost immediately, she felt the anger rising. Join the Legion? Her erstwhile executioners? Her jailors for those years; the protectors of an Empire that had allowed a man to take her and, and...she shied away from that thought. How could he even suggest...! But, she thought swallowing her feelings, how could he know? She wouldn't tell him anything, not even her full name. Leaving her thoughts she took in the man in who was now watching her carefully, obviously having seen the conflicting emotions that had swept across her face.

"Why do you suggest that?" she asked, controlling her voice as much as possible.

"Because," he replied, expression still careful and tone placating "Whatever you may think of us the Legion looks out for its own. It's a job and a responsibility, with good pay and security. And we need every recruit we can get, its the God's own truth!"

"I know we didn't endear ourselves to you through almost executing you," he continued, allowing a wry smile to quirk his lips, "but think about it. With the way Skyrim's going these days, it might be the safest place to be."

While a part of her still wanted to shout him down, that practical part of her was beginning to speak up. He did make some good points and what better place to hide then as a faceless soldier? Still, it was too big a thought to handle in one go; she almost regretted starting the conversation at all.

"Thank you," she told Hadvar, putting as much gratitude as she was able into her voice, "I appreciate the idea. I will think about. It could work."

"Anytime lass." he said back before starting walking again.

Weighed down by her own thoughts Rue followed on after him before, with a shake of her head, she did her best to clear herself again. Plenty of time for worries when they reached this...Riverweed or whatever Hadvar called it. For now she tried to recapture that feeling of freedom again. It had been a nice feeling – she wanted to get used to it.

A few more turns and they finally came upon a cobbled road. With a quick smile at her Hadvar walked over and checked a wooden signpost before declaring that there wasn't much further to go. As they headed down the increasingly paved way Hadvar began to point out some of the local landmarks to her; such as the intimidating ruin that Rue could now see visible upon the distant mountain or, after another steep turn, the cluster of ancient carved standing stones just beside the road.

"Go on, check them out," he urged in an enthusiastic way, "they say that each one bestows a blessing upon the one who honours it."

"Of course they say" Rue snorted.

"Go on," he urged, amusement entering his tone. "Choose which one strikes you, what do you say? It couldn't hurt."

"Probably won't help either" she jabbed back, but lightly. She'd already decided to humour him anyway; it was the least she could do considering his help and patience towards her.

As he watched with a small satisfied smile she gave the stones a quick study. Looking closely she could now see that what had looked like random carvings from the road were in fact figures etched into the stone just below a iron bound circular gap. Looking over all three she found her gaze drawn back to the one on the far right with what looked like a hulking man drawn on it. Approaching it closer, and despite her scepticism, she could feel something emanating from it that seemed to draw her in. Nervously now she raised her hand and, very lightly, touched it. It was oddly warm, and seemed to almost vibrate, but she still found herself now putting both hands fully on it. Then, there was a strange sensation; a feeling of movement, of pulsing and then nothing. Rue realised she had closed her eyes and, opening them, could of sworn she saw blinding light now filling the stones gap. It was gone in an instant though and it was Hadvar's voice that pulled her back completely.

"Warrior, good! It's blessings should guide your path! I knew you shouldn't have been on that cart the minute I laid eyes on you."

"I'm sure you were actually thinking 'who's this dirty thing', considering how we first met" she shot back at him, but good naturedly.

"Ha, you might have me there," he looked thoughtful for a moment, "still, the way you came out of nowhere back then scared us outright. I think some of us thought it was an ambush the way they were panicking. Still, appearing as you did...ah well," he waved the thought away and then started moving on again, "we best carry on walking, maybe even speed up a little, instead of standing around."

"You were the one who insisted we stop." Rue reminded him, giving one last look at the stone she had just interacted with. It's just a stone, she told herself, picking up her pace to keep up with the now faster moving Hadvar, stop getting nervy over nothing.

The path now ran right beside a fast flowing river, the sound of which had been on the edge of Rue's hearing this entire time. Its clear blue depths spoke to her and, suddenly self-conscious of the grimy nature of her body and clothes, she longed to have a dive into it. Of course she put it out of her head though; this was no time unfortunately.

"We follow this and we'll be right there, hopefully soon." Hadvar commented, taking in the slightly darkening sky.

"You know," he continued, glancing back at her, "this probably goes without saying but as far as I'm concerned you've already earned a pardon. But best steer clear of any Imperial soldiers until you join, or, well, choose if you're going to join the Legion."

"Don't worry I'd fully intended to do just that," Rue said firmly.

He seemed to be waiting for her to elaborate, maybe even confirm her thoughts on his idea, but for now she kept it at that. After a brief pause he seemed to sigh and then drop the subject, the both of them lapsing back into silence. As they continued onwards Rue felt an ache working its way into her muscles. The way down the path was relatively smooth, even if the cobbles were slightly uneven, but she did feel her legs beginning to wear on her. The ill-fitting armour didn't help; though she had adjusted to it a little and done her best to block it out it was starting to chaff her shoulders slightly. As well, she hadn't been joking about needing new clothes earlier. It felt as if her leggings had ripped and the red tunic, while initially comfortable, had begun to itch. All in all, she was very ready to have a rest, especially with all the thoughts that were swirling in her head now.

Thankfully, their destination came into sight just before the sky began to darken too much. Brushing past the branches of a pine that had grown over the side of the road Rue saw what looked like the walled entrance to a town.

"Riverwood," Hadvar confirmed, equal relief in his voice, "hopefully we can really rest here."

"What are we waiting for." said Rue eagerly, nervousness about entering an unknown town eclipsed by her need to stop, if only for a while. This day had been nothing on the woods in terms of walking but her body had still barely recovered from that ordeal, let alone every experience within Helgen. Together they headed into the town, their pace quickened by the thought of shelter.


	10. Chapter 10

**Yea, sorry for the big break between updates there – lots of life junk. Back to regular writing for the foreseeable future...hopefully**.

 **Chapter Ten**

The sound of clanging and the fiery red glow from what was obviously a forge not to far from where they were standing drew Rue forward further into the town of Riverwood, Hadvar just in front of her. The place seemed almost identical in construction to Helgen, right down to the thatched cottages, though Rue found herself oddly uninterested in looking around. All her thoughts were now focused on just getting somewhere she could stop and rest. She was slightly dismayed that just the thought of stopping soon was enough to make the fatigue rise in her – despite unwanted bouts of unconsciousness this had been one of the longest days without rest that she could ever remember and it was beginning to catch up to her if the increased heaviness in her limbs was anything to go by. Still, the forge seemed but a short walk away so she pulled herself together; no telling if any other challenges awaited. Curiously, the street was pretty empty but Rue could feel no tension in the air; news of Helgen must have not got here yet if the calmness around her was anything to go by.

"Things look quiet enough," commented Hadvar, mirroring her thoughts, before gesturing to a heavyset individual now looking in their direction with a slight frown, highlighted by the brightness of the coals he was tending to, "come on. There's my Uncle."

"Uncle Alvor! Hello!" he called giving a wave as he walked up the log steps to the little smithy.

This Alvor was bearded hulk of a man; rather atypical of most of the Nordic men Rue had seen so far in her brief time in Skyrim. Putting down his hammer and wiping his hands on a bit of cloth Alvor walked towards them, a furry eyebrow raising as he took them in.

"Hadvar? I thought that was you but I didn't think it could have been. What are you doing here? Are you on leave from..."

Getting close enough he finally seemed to see the state they were in; his eyes raked the two of them obviously seeing the bruises and scratches on Rues face and the soot stained condition of their armour.

"Shor's bones!" Alvor exclaimed, "what happened to you boy? And who's this," and here his gaze shifted to Rue, causing her to look dispassionately back at him "she looks way too young to be Legion. What is going...?"

"Shhh Uncle please. Keep your voice down," said Hadvar hurriedly, obviously worried about any undue attention though, Rue thought looking at the practically empty street, he might just be being a little paranoid. Still when he went on to suggest that they head inside she wasn't going to argue; anything to sit down and take the weight off.

"Alright," said Alvor begrudgingly, clearly curious, a fact he made clearer by asking again, "but, seriously, who is this girl Hadvar?"

Rue tried, she really did, but being called girl did make her bristle defensively. She was a woman; for all the good it had ever done her she still held onto that. Luckily, Hadvar stepped in and answered his uncle before Rue could open her mouth and say something possibly sharp and insulting.

"She's a friend," he said, before going on to say with a quick smile in her direction, "saved my life in fact, a good few times. Come on Alvor, I'll explain more but we really should go inside."

Rue felt a slight warmth go through her at Hadvar's acknowledgement of her – though he was the one who would more probably be considered the saviour of the two of them, it was nice to have him admit to her usefulness. She decided to let her happiness show and she gave him a warm smile – its the least she could offer. In return he locked eyes with her for a few beats, just long enough for Rue to feel a visible flush rise in her cheeks. Hurriedly she looked away; all the more self consciousness when she realised that Alvor was still standing there.

"Well, any friend of my nephew is a friend of mine," he said eventually, evidently deciding to let his questions rest for the moment. With the wave of one of his beefy hands he gestured them to follow him way from his forge and to his home before continuing on by saying,

"Come on inside. Sigrid will get you something to eat, you both look starving, and you can tell me all about it."

As they were walking to Alvor's front door Rue heard someone start to talk loudly about dragon's in the distance. Instantly she found herself paying more attention and, if the sudden stiffness in his pose was anything to go by, so had Hadvar. She found herself relaxing though when the person, an older lady talking to her son if the voices were anything to go by, exclaimed that she'd seen it flying away over the mountains. She and Hadvar shared a brief look of relief; maybe they really would get to rest soon. She couldn't help but notice that Alvor was paying close attention to them as well; still, he choose not to question them anymore just yet and instead opened his door and led them inside.

The inside of Alvor's home looked so comfy that Rue almost found her eyebrows dropping already. Giving herself a shake she closed the door behind her and took it all in. A small rawhide bed was up against one of the walls, with a staircase heading downwards against the other and in front of the roaring lit fireplace was a sturdy wooden table with a few bits of food already laid upon on it. That she tries not to stare too closely at; really, she was beginning to get tired of always being led around by her stomach. Still, she did hope to eat soon if only so she could sit down on one of the simple looking wooden chairs around the table; her legs were truly starting to ache something fierce.

"Sigrid, we have company!" yelled Alvor loudly taking off his leather smock and hanging it on a hook by the door. With his free hand he gestured them to sit down; an action that Rue took gratefully. The feeling of just resting her feet as she sunk into the chair actually caused her to groan out loud. In mortification she covered her mouth and glared pre-emptively at Hadvar who, sure another, was looking at her with a sparkle of mirth in his eyes from his position just across the table from her.

"Company Alvor?" came a female voice from downstairs questioningly, "you could have told me sooner. I've only just finished getting Dorthe to wash up. You said you'd warn me if any of those louts from the sawmill were coming over."

"Just come on up and see woman!" called Alvor again, "you'll like it, I promise. And my friends aren't louts you demon woman."

"So you say you great oaf," came a grumbling voice as the woman in question came into view, "now who..." just then she caught sight of Hadvar and a smile lit up her strong and homely features, transforming her strong Nordic features into something a lot softer "Hadvar, is that you! God's alive, we were worried about you."

"Hello there Sigrid," said Hadvar, with a look that even Rue, who'd never been around it much, could only see as genuine and strong affection, "sorry to barge in so late and all but..."

"Nonsense. Utter nonsense; you're always welcome and you know it," she said with a dismissive wave, her eyes taking him fully in, "but you know the stories of the Legion. We feared for your safety, we really did."

"I'm fine Sigrid," he replied softly, "well, bar a few scrapes. Hungry though, I might add."

Looking to her husband Sigrid seemed to notice Rue for the first time; instantly a look of such intense scrutiny flashed across her face that Rue found herself straightening her spine from her relaxed slouch and meeting her eye for eye. The moment only lasted a second or two but she felt she had just had a true measure taken of her; and she wasn't sure what the results would be. After almost freezing in place Sigrid's gaze released her and she turned to Alvor; giving Rue a quick moment to collect herself.

"Why haven't you offered them anything to eat yet?" she demanded, "even I can see they look half starved. Come on," this directed at Rue and Hadvar, the latter who was giving a slight grin at the disgruntled looking Alvor, "take whatever's on the table and I'll serve up some of the rabbit stew I have on the boil."

Rue didn't need any other promoting. As quickly and yet politely as possible she tucked into the bread and cheese that she had been eyeing; feeling slightly mollified by how quickly Hadvar was doing the same. Alvor stood up and grabbed a few bowls; handing them round after his wife had filled them before sitting down and eating himself. For a few moments the only focus was on food and Rue was intensely grateful, especially once she tried some of the stew. While not a match for anything produced in the Cadia household (Brexis really had liked the good things and was always willing to pay) it was still delicious and the heat and touch of spice did a lot to reinvigorate her.

"Who're you?" said an inquisitive voice right next to her, causing her to almost jump out of her chair.

Spinning, Rue saw a sweetly curious looking face almost right next to hers. So focused had she been on the food she hadn't even noticed the young girl come upstairs or settle onto the chair beside her.

"Dorthe, don't be rude," admonished Sigrid, before looking at Rue herself, an eyebrow cocking as she took her in for a second time "However, I do admit I'd like to ask the same. Call it curiosity."

Before Rue could think of an appropriate response, not that she was even sure she had one, Alvor spoke up.

"Before all that, start at the beginning," here he looked straight at Hadvar, "Now then boy, now you've had a chance to eat, what's the big mystery? What are you doing here, away from your unit and looking like you lost an argument with a cave bear?"

Rue and Hadvar shared a look and she gestured to him whereupon he gave her nod of understanding. Probably better he tell the tale; they knew and trusted him and, besides, Rue wasn't sure about Sigrid's opinion of her. She hadn't felt that usual jealousy from her (yet, said a cynical part of her) but she was clearly wary of her. Not that she didn't have an idea why; even from the brief time she had been in the home she could sense a certain energy between Sigrid and Hadvar. What it was she had no idea, but it was there so she resolved to stay quiet, at least for the moment.

"I don't really now where to start," said Hadvar indecisively, before saying, "Well, you know I was assigned to General Tullius's guard."

"And proud we were too," said Alvor with a grunt, "maybe he can straighten out this damn land."

"Well, we were stopped in Helgen with some...prisoners," his eyes didn't even flicker towards Rue and yet she felt a slight tenseness in his tone, "for the General had decided on...executions," here his eyes did flicker, a slightly held gaze as they both remembered it in that flash, then he looked back to his Uncle while taking what looked like a deep breath, "but we were attacked. Everything thrown into chaos. By a Dragon."

There was a moment of silence around the table though Rue did notice an excited drawing in a breath from the young girl sitting next to her. The silence was broken by a rough chortle.

"A...Dragon? Thats ridiculous. You haven't been drinking, have you boy?"

"Husband," admonished Sigrid, a warning to her tone as she eyed Alvor, "this is Hadvar. Let him finish his story."

"It's alright Sigrid, it does sound rather unbelievable once said out loud," said Hadvar with a slight smile in her direction, before continuing, "Still, not much more to tell beyond that. The Dragon flew over and just wrecked the whole damn place. I'd be surprised if there's a building still standing. Mass confusion."

"I, don't know if anyone else made it out alive," he said, his voice catching slightly.

This was another silence, but this one much more tense. Finally, Alvor spoke up, his voice much different than before.

"By all the Divines, you're really telling the truth, aren't you? Hadvar lad, how are you still standing!"

"If I was by myself I might not still be," replied Hadvar, giving himself a shake before nodding in Rue's direction, "I have my friend to thank for being able to sit here right now."

Suddenly, all attention was on Rue. While inwardly she felt the need to cringe she couldn't let Hadvar push all the credit onto her.

"He's selling himself short," she spoke up, wincing at her clearly Imperial accent, before pushing on, "Really, he's the one that saved me. I'd have given up without him I think."

"Ha," he grinned at her, "you left me in the dust when it came to taking out the enemies. A credit to the Legion this one. It's no wonder she was specially hired by Legate Rikke."

So, that was his angle was it. Rue didn't even really need to see the warning in his eyes; it did seem a good cover, at least for now.

"Well, Hadvar was the one really trusted by General Tullius," she said, playing along, "I was really a glorified assistant to all the proper soldiers. Not that mattered once the chaos started."

"So you are Legion," said Sigrid uncertainly, still clearly doubtful especially given Rue's delicate features, "Still, if you helped Hadvar, you have my gratitude," a slight pause "whoever you might be."

"Still, a Dragon thought," grumbled Alvor, "I can barely credit it lad."

"But Daddy, I saw it!" piped up an excited voice. Rue looked to see the young Dorthe bouncing up and down on her chair in enthusiasm, "remember I saw it earlier and you didn't believe me. I was right, I was right!"

"That you were little one," said Hadvar with a fond smile before turning back to the business at hand, "I need to get back to Solitude as quickly as possible; give my report and hope that the General made it back safe."

"Also," here he paused awkwardly before just continuing, " I know it's cheeky but I was hoping you could help us out. Food, supplies, a place to stay."

Both Alvor and Sigrid looked at each other for long moment, causing Rue to suddenly have a few doubts pop into her head. Did they not believe them? Would they have to move on? Now she'd eaten and rested her fatigue was catching up to her; just the thought of having to head elsewhere was highly demoralising. Luckily, it seemed her fears were unfounded if the loud barking laugh of Alvor's was anything to go by.

"Why are you sounding so meek lad, that's not like you! You know this house is always open to you. Your friend as well. Actually, I just realised. I never got your name?"

"Rue" she answered with a hesitant smile. There was a slight bit of awkwardness where he obviously waited for a follow up but she was too tired to think up a cover at the moment. Luckily, Hadvar did what he'd been doing all day, namely came to her rescue.

"Actually, we're both exhausted. Do you mind if we rest now and pick up any discussion tomorrow? It's been a long one; a long and scary one I don't mind saying."

"Of course, of course, what are we thinking, keeping you up," said Sigrid, a sardonic twist to her mouth alleviated by a warmth in her eyes as she looked at Rue's companion, "come, tomorrow can be the day of answer's. Rue," a direct look, such a strong gaze, "you can sleep downstairs with Dorthe, we still have a spare bed in her room."

Before she could really speak up anymore Rue found herself getting helped out of her seat and ushered downstairs in a flurry of sudden hostessness. She spared a moment to shoot a thankful look in Hadvar's direction; hoping to convey without words all she felt for his help. Maybe he got the extent of it, maybe he didn't; but he did smile warmly at her and give her a little encouraging wave. For the short while Rue allowed herself to relax and give herself over to Sigrid's maternalism; for, as she helped her peel her armour off and see more and more of the scrapes, bruises and dirt that liberally covered her body Sigrid's air of wariness faded and instead gave way to what seemed like caring. Gently she helped Rue undress from her soiled clothes, the careful movements only increasing the dreamlike state that she was starting to find herself in. Everything was beginning to fall into itself and, by the time she was in a clean shift, she was practically staggering on her feet. Slowly Sigrid led her by the hand to a bed and, no sooner had she settled onto it, Rue found herself inadvertently curling into a protective ball. Beds...didn't have great memories.

"Rue," said a voice gently.

Looking up in her fuzzy state she took in the woman who was standing by her. Hesitantly Sigrid reached down and, after a pause, began stroking her hair. It was so unexpected that she found her whole body tensing before finally letting herself relax and enjoy the sensation. Slowly, her body unclenched and she felt her eyelids truly begin to close. As she drifted off, finally for some true sleep, she heard one last quiet voice,

"I still have questions, that I do, but for now your safe. Rest easy girl, and sleep as well as you can."

Slowly, the darkness took Rue into that thankful place of rest, hopefully, not to dream.


	11. Chapter 11

**Pretty happy with this chapter, though it did end up longer than I thought. Still, the true solo adventure should be starting soon; been a while coming. Enjoy, review etc etc.**

 **Chapter Eleven**

It was with a gradual motion and understanding of sensations that Rue began to feel herself waking. First, it was the strange but welcoming softness of the bed against her arms, then the sound of light breathing signifying someone else's presence nearby and then, slowly, she felt her eyes inadvertently begin to open. The dimness to the room confused her other senses briefly – was she still dreaming or was she really awake? Finally, her brain kicked into gear and, with a sudden movement, she was bolt upright, clutching the soft fur sheet that had been covering her body to herself in confusion. Where in Oblivion was she? Trying to calm her breathing she began to take in her surroundings as quietly as possible, willing her sluggish brain back into action. The room was a small chamber with two little beds in it. A small figure was curled up in the other one; a young girl by the looks of it. A young girl? But who could that...Dorthe, her brain finally supplied. Dorthe, the daughter of Sigrid and Alvor. That's where she was, she thought, her racing heart unclenching from the unwitting panic that had begun to grip it, safe for now in...Riverwood, that was it. Now that she had established that she was fine to relax she slid down gratefully back into the bed, enjoying the feeling of softness that came from the clean clothes she was wearing. Her contentment was a little marred by the gritty feeling of her body though; she was cleaner than she thought she'd be but there still was numerous bits of filth clinging to her and god's forbid what her hair must look like. In the end, call it vanity or call it cleanliness, it was that knowledge that convinced her to get up; as much as she regretted it as soon as she left the warm confines of her bed.

Walking as silently as possible, so as to not disturb the other little figure in the room, she padded to the open space that served as the entrance. For a moment she hesitated, it really had been a long time since she had slept in such a comfortable place and leaving it willingly seemed silly, but her want to sort out her condition propelled her forward. With stealthy movements she headed over to the rough wooden stairs that led to the main room of the little housestead, pausing as she saw a small pile of what looked like her possessions sitting on a barrel. After a quick inspection she saw that it was indeed her former clothes, though they looked a little like someone had given them a vigorous scrub which, if that was the case, Rue was immensely grateful for; as well as the knapsack she had liberated and her sword and dagger. Quickly she dug around in the bag and saw that everything she remembered having shoved in there was still present; the mysterious book was there and even the few potions she'd snagged were still intact, something she'd been loathe to check before for fear that they'd broken during all of her activity. Furtively she scanned around her. It was relatively dim down here but by the light coming down the stairs it seemed like it was morning at least, meaning that there could be someone around. Still, there was no one in the near vicinity and, after straining her ears, Rue couldn't hear anyone but the sleeping Dorthe in the next room. With a quick decision, and motion, she stripped off her shift (slightly regrettably) and started to struggle into her former clothes; trying her best not to take her own body in too much. She wasn't ready to truly see what state it was in, not yet. Once clothed she felt a little more comfortable, grimy body aside, though she did have a worrying thought while trying to remember how she'd ended up undressed in the first place. Then the memory hit her with sudden clarity and Rue found herself shivering with disquiet; had she really been so tired as to meekly let a complete stranger manhandle her? Obviously the answer was yes, yes she had been. That thought almost had her wanting to bolt away in blind panic: what had that woman, Sigrid, what had she seen? Had she seen the marks? Had she been disgusted by her body or, worse, had she liked it? Rue was no stranger to the knowledge that woman could find other woman attractive; not all the ladies who Brexis had proudly displayed her to had been negative of her. Physically at least; socially she was still beneath them clearly.

Ruthlessly she shoved her feelings of discomfort far down in favour of more practical concerns. Look at it this way, Rue told herself, for now you still need to eat, bathe and work out a plan of action in regard to what in the Heavens you're going to do next; panic later, practical now. Happily, it seemed she could deal with one of her present concerns straight away. After a quick rummage around she pulled out an apple that didn't seem too bruised from her knapsack and proceeded to wolf it down. Now fortified she dropped the core onto a barrel and considered her next move. No contest really; if she didn't wash soon she felt she'd lose it. Before heading up the stairs though she realised that she wasn't really comfortable going unarmed...truly, she didn't know if she'd ever be comfortable without a blade at her side anymore. Rue was irked to notice that of all her belongings she couldn't see the armour but then stopped herself from regretting it too much; that was too paranoid, even for her. She hesitated over the sword before instead just taking the iron dagger and slipping it under her belt. She didn't want to come across as too guarded, she was still a guest after all. Taking a deep breath she headed up the stairs, pausing slightly at the top to scan the room. It appeared empty; even the bed was unoccupied and the fire that had been so inviting the night before was now just warm embers. Someone clearly had been up and about though as there was still steaming cup of some type of hot drink resting on the table. With hesitant steps Rue went over to the door of the house before stopping when she realised she had no idea where to go to wash or, well, find anything really. She had an idea of using the river but just the thought of there being other people around to see her almost made her retreat back downstairs to hide in the bed. She didn't though; berating herself for being weak she decided to just head out and see what she found.

The front door opening put an end to whatever admittedly vague plans she had however. Rue tensed and stayed tense when she saw it was the woman Sigrid, not really sure how she should act around her. Her thoughts were very...conflicted. While there was the worry over the whole undressing thing there was the memory of a tender touch on her hair, stroking her to sleep. When Sigrid saw her it seemed she might have felt the same way; that is, if the way she froze on the spot and took her in was any indication.

"Well, it looks like everyone decided to rise early this morning," said the woman, seemingly relaxing even if Rue hadn't, "is my slug of a daughter awake yet?"

"Not yet," Rue answered shortly, awkward of how to proceed in the light of her reservations, "I was just going to...I mean, everyone else is up?"

"Alvor's at the forge. Big shipment of iron came in the other day and he thought he'd make a good start on a few of his orders," Sigrid said conversationally, crossing the room and prodding at the fire with a nearby poker, "Hadvar made an early one of it as well. Slipped out a bit ago, said he had some things to check up on and some people to talk to" here her lips spread into a small smile, once again softening her features "always thinking ahead that man. May the Eight watch over him."

Silence then came between them, with there being no sounds but the crackle as the fire began to wake up and the creaks as Rue found herself shifting from foot to foot. She never had been good at conversation with other woman, especially not ones she couldn't easily read. She had thought it was just the exhaustion the other day but even now she still wasn't sure on this woman's thoughts towards her.

"So," said Sigrid, breaking the quiet and causing Rue to focus on her, "I'll take it you were thinking of having a wash. Because, with no offence lass, but even for the wife of a smith you're a little ripe."

"No choice of mine, I assure you!" Rue found herself snapping but instantly cooled her anger at the look of surprise (and amusement dammit, she really was related to Hadvar) that Sigrid sported, before continuing in a calmer tone, "yes, a wash would be appreciated. I hate being like this."

"Come on, lets head out then," said Sigrid briskly, "just let me pick up a few bits and I'll show you the best spot."

"So you do bathe in the river then," said Rue, slightly hesitantly as Sigrid bustle around the room with purpose putting a few supplies into a woven basket, "I thought that would be the case but I wasn't sure."

"Of course we do, how else," barked Sigrid with a laugh, "it's not like we're noble folk around here. Why," and here her gaze turned sharp "how do you usually bathe?"

Rue berated herself for such a simple slip up and instead quickly tried to distract her with another question

"What about the men? How do you stop them from...watching."

"Ha, they know where the line is drawn," Sigrid replied, clearly humouring her pathetic evasion if the sardonic twist to her mouth was anything to go by, "they know it'll be their heads or worse if they were caught by anyone. Its a small town; you're either decent or you can be on your way is the way we see things. Don't get that many travellers either so they're not usually a problem either."

"Now," she said, hefting the basket under one of her arms, "let's get going. Follow my lead. Rue."

With that she headed out of the door, clearly expecting Rue to come on after her. She hesitated for a few seconds before allowing her guarded nature to drop in favour of just following meekly; at least for the moment. Outside she found herself squinting at the brightness of the early morning sun. There was a freshness when she breathed which she found invigorating but there was a hint to the air she couldn't place. It was only after noticing Sigrid had stopped and by following the direction of her gaze, that she understood the hint to be ash. In the early morning light the smoke rising from the direction of Helgen was clearly visible now; though not as bad as Rue thought it would have been. Still, it was a disquieting sight on so bright a day and she could understand Sigrid's pausing. She didn't stand still long though; with a look back at Rue she turned left and walked up the cobbled road of the down. Rue trailed close behind her, hand lightly resting near her side. And if that meant it was near her dagger well, better paranoid then dead. Turning off the main road Sigrid headed over the heath and bushes, heading further and further away from the nearest house, till she neared the river. Looking both sides Rue could see a sawmill downriver and a stone bridge further upriver but, at the spot Sigrid had chosen, there was a slight curve in the bank which, along with a few well placed trees, made a natural shelter. There was no one else present as the two woman approached the water but, judging by how flattened down the grass was here and the odd bit of discarded cloth, this was a well visited spot. Stepping up to the bank Sigrid put down the basket and then, well, then she looked at Rue expectantly.

Great, thought Rue with an annoyingly familiar sense of rising panic, she expects me to just get undressed, just like that. It wasn't that she was unfamiliar with getting undressed around others – Brexis had had many maids as befitting his, ha, "noble" status and Rue had been around them a lot of her life – but never really in front of a stranger and especially never in front of someone who she couldn't read. She squashed her fear though with one pure thought; if Hadvar, a man whom she had come to trust (as unlikely as that was), trusted her then so should she. Before she could reconsider she quickly stripped off her tunic and leggings, dropping the dagger on top of them so it was in easy reach, before entering the water as quickly as possible; trying to tell herself that the full body shiver was to do with the chilly temperature of the water and not the eyes that were upon her. With a quick motion she submerged her body as much as possible, relishing the sensation of dirt being washed away by the gentle current. She heard a throat be cleared and, looking back, she saw that Sigrid had entered the water up to her feet and was reaching out towards her with what looked like some type of herbal soap. Wordlessly Rue took it from her; endeavouring to keep as much of her body under the shallow water as possible. Turning her back again she choose to ignore the presence behind her as best as possible and do something that she had been avoiding; that is, to properly examine her own flesh. Scrubbing the floral soap over herself she made an internal list of her own features: legs, still strong despite hardship; midriff, not as bad as feared, though her ribs were more prominent than she remembered and, despite healing, the mark on her side was still visible; breasts, ha, still perky and curved, still attractive whether that be for good or for ill; arms and back, pretty good condition considering the hard use her body had gone through, even not withstanding the old and faded scars. All in all, Rue concluded, rinsing the lather off her arms, she was in good shape if a little thin.

Her body now clean it was just her hair that needed attention which, Rue thought regrettably, meant she had to re-acknowledge the other woman.

"Do you have anything I can use on this," she said, looking over her shoulder and indicating her head. She was relieved to see that Sigrid hadn't been standing there watching her; in fact, she was facing the other way towards town, looking again at the smoke in the sky that was just visible over the horizon. At the sound of her voice Sigrid turned back to her and Rue almost wished she hadn't so intense and troubled was her gaze for a moment. It softened instantly though and, with a smile, she went back to the bank and brought something over to her,

"This is a concoction the herbalist down the river makes," she explained, taking back the soap and handing over a small clay container, "I don't use it much, too fancy for my, but Dorthe loves it. Made from a type of wildflower that grows along the mountainside apparently."

Gratefully Rue took it from her and was delighted to find that it had a delicious smell to it. Eagerly she dunked her head under the water a few times before slathering it onto her hair. Handing the little container back, not really caring at Sigrid's proximity right now, she luxuriated in the feeling of massaging her own scalp. Truly, bathing had been one of the only perks of her former life and a luxury she had taken full use of; something that she knew Brexis never had any complaints over. With the gentle water lapping at her hips, the warm morning sun heating up her upper body and the beautiful floral smell enveloping her other senses Rue felt a rush of true contentment. This was freedom! What a joyous feeling. Reluctantly, she dunked herself into the river again and washed out the bubbles, before swishing her hair back and enjoying the feeling of cleanliness.

Now that she was clean she began to notice how chilly the water was. As if sensing her thoughts she heard Sigrid say behind her

"I've got some cotton towels warming in the sun if you're ready. We can then get this day started; Hadvar might even be back and wondering where we were."

"And, if it'll make you more comfortable," she continued, giving her look which Rue could only see as a compassionate one, "I'll turn my back while you get out of the water."

At that Rue felt herself flushing; she thought she'd hidden her wariness pretty well but apparently this woman had picked up on it. Still, despite being so easily read she was grateful when the woman did just that and, with hurried motion, she came out of the river and wrapped her body in the soft material, covering her entire self as best as possible. Wrapped up tight and warm, huddled there sitting on the bank of the river Rue almost felt like a young girl again; a feeling that was amplified when Sigrid came and sat down next to her companionably. For a small time they just sat there together, silent and still but for the small shivers as Rue began to feel her body warm up. Eventually though Sigrid looked across at her

"So," Sigrid began, her serious expression filling Rue with apprehension, "you might remember me saying that I did have some questions for you."

"I remember" Rue answered tersely.

"Well, after talking with Hadvar and my husband last night I came to a decision. And after seeing, I'm sorry to say this but, after seeing your body," she held up her hand upon seeing Rue's instant flash of anger, forestalling her building fear, at least for the moment, "your scars and bruises I meant, nothing else. Well, after all that I decided that...well..."

She took a deep breath, and then looked at Rue with such a look of kindness and compassion that any rising negative feelings within her were completely washed away. Sigrid smiled at her; that warm smile that so lit up her features, the one she'd seen aimed at Hadvar the other night.

"I decided that, whatever your past, I didn't care," Sigrid carried on, still smiling at her, "whatever you've been through, whoever you are running from - and don't deny you're running from someone, no one has marks like yours from someone good – you are safe with us. There will be no questions, if you don't wish them, and no judgement. You can stay. For as long as you wish it."

The implied offer there, that this was a place she could stay, so stunned Rue that she almost couldn't breath. Were these people that kind, to take in a complete stranger so quickly? Was this, right here, was this the place that she wanted to stop at? Sigrid seemed to sense her swirling confusion as she waved a placating hand at her.

"You don't have to decide right away Rue," she said, standing up and walking over to the basket, "besides, I think my husband has a favour to ask you first anyway. Just" another quick smile, this time causing an odd jump in Rue's chest, "something for you to think about is all."

"Now, I don't know about you but I'm getting hungry. Alvor will be wanting to break his fast as well; lump of a man he is, he always needs feeding. Let's head back now."

"I'd like that," Rue replied and then, letting the feeling carry her along, she smiled at Sigrid and said, as genuinely as she could, "and Sigrid. Thankyou. For, you know, everything so far. And for not asking."

"Beautiful," said Sigrid, seemingly to herself as she took in Rue, though she laughed disarmingly when Rue's face darkened slightly, "it's just something Hadvar said about your smile lass, no harm from me."

Reaching into the basket she pulled out some clean clothes; Rue had assumed that they were Sigrid's when she'd seen her picking them up in the house but she handed them over to her. They were not too dissimilar to what she had been wearing before, though this tunic was a deep blue instead of red, but they looked a much better fit. Which was strange as Sigrid was much more solidly built than Rue; however, when she gave her a questioningly look Sigrid seemed to grasp the underlying question,

"My sister's," she explained, turning around again to give Rue some privacy, "she's as small built as you are, quite the delicate little twig really, so I thought they might fit you better than those rags you had on."

"They're perfect," exclaimed Rue happily, brushing her still damp ebony hair back over her shoulders, "I feel almost human again."

They walked back together into Riverwood, side by side this time, with Rue finding herself in a much happier frame of mind (not that she'd forgotten to stick the dagger back in her belt. She was happier, not stupid). Sigrid's offer still stuck in her mind – it was definitely one plan, if they were willing. It's unlikely any hunters that Brexis had surely hired by now would think to search every small riverside town in Skyrim, so any place was as good as any other. However, her survival instinct warned, staying in one place for too long invites complacency. And besides, thought another part of Rue – call it her harsh suspicion - scathingly, its too soon to be trusting anyone just because they can say nice words. So occupied, Rue barely noticed that Sigrid had slowed down just before reaching the main cobbled road again, only recognising that she wasn't beside her when Sigrid came to a complete stop. With a raised eyebrow Rue looked back, to see her standing there with a conflicted expression on her face. Sigrid seemed to sigh and then looked at Rue, before speaking in a surprisingly hesitant tone

"Rue, I know I said no questions; and I mean that, I promise," she began, "but you see, well. The thing is, its, well, its Hadvar. He seems quite taken with you."

"That's no business of mine" Rue replied, finding a sudden coldness come over her at the very thought of that.

"I don't mean in that way," Sigrid said quickly, clearly noticing the defensiveness now present in her, "well, probably not anyway. It's more that he's decided to be your...lets say protector of sorts. That's a better way of putting it."

That was a better way of putting it; Rue felt her body relaxing slightly. Protector, as galling as that was, was much better than some romantic partnership.

"So," she said, calmer now, "do you want me do something about that. Tell him to stop, or, something."

Sigrid chuckled at that, a little bit of her own tension going away by the looks of it

"I doubt you could. He's quite stubborn in his own way. Maybe that's why he likes you, who can say. No. It's just, I worry about him. Whoever's hunting you, and I'm not asking who don't worry, I just I want it to be that they couldn't harm him. Could they?"

That actually caused Rue a moment of deep worry – she'd never considered the fates of anyone who helped her. Maybe because she'd never conceived that people would help her; for so much of her life she had felt it had been her against everyone else with only a very few bright spots. But after giving it a few moments thought she shook her head

"No," she said firmly, "I doubt any harm would come to him because of me."

"That's a relief," Sigrid said, heaving a small sigh, before cocking her head slightly to the side, "you seem very sure though."

"The one who's after me only wants me," Rue admitted, "besides, though they"she deliberately avoided the personal pronoun, "wish it, they don't have as much clout and power as they like to think they have. The most Hadvar would get is a small punishment at the very worst."

Sigrid smiled at her, a twist to her mouth letting on that she'd picked up on Rue's evasion. Once again Rue was struck by this woman; though she tried not to be prejudiced she honestly hadn't expected to find such intelligence in some Nordic village woman. She smiled back again, Sigrid had seemed to like that last time, and together they went back to the woman's home. As they came close they saw Alvor just heading in from the forge which raised the question in Rue's mind, I wonder what he wanted to ask me?

Oh well, she thought as both she and Sigrid entered, I guess I'll find out soon.


End file.
